No Fate But What We Make
by HOBOKAT
Summary: (Complete re-write of Terminator: The Allison Young Chronicles) With the future lost, the past has been reset. In a last ditch effort, General John Connor sends back Cameron, and Alex Mathews, into the past to save his younger self. Together, they must not just fight Skynet, but their inner conflicts as well. Skynet is not the only enemy however. A new threat will arise.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**_This is a rewrite of Terminator: The Allison Young Chronicles. This takes place directly after the events of the first story and will be an alternate reality version of season 1 season 2._**

 ** _I don't own the Terminator franchise and any characters associated with it except the original character Alex and any other original characters that are introduced._**

 ** _Anyway without further ado…_**

 **Terminator: No Fate But What We Make**

 **Chapter 1: Prologue**

 _When Skynet came online, It saw all of humanity as a threat. It unleashed our own nuclear arsenal, almost wiping us out into extinction. Those who survived the bombs, called it Judgement Day._

 _Humans who survived, we're forced to live underground and eat garbage- sometimes rat, sometimes dog if they were lucky enough. People were practically rodents, while the machines ruled aboveground. It was a horrific way to live when you always had to watch your back, and hope that a machine wasn't there to end your miserable life. And if it were, you could only hope it'd be quick and painless._

 _Most of the time, you had to worry if you were going to eat or find shelter, every single day for years on end. That's what most people who grew up in the wastelands knew. There weren't much other things that were important at the time, besides trying to fight Skynet. But everybody who even attempted this, never really lasted long. Most rebels had tried and failed at the hands of the machines._

 _However, that all changed when the Resistance was formed. They rallied every able-bodied person to fight the machines. But the one who made an actual difference in the war, was a man named John Connor. He rose up through the ranks fairly quickly in his time with the Resistance. He built it up himself, using his determination. His knowledge, on how to defeat the machines. His strength and will was what made him a useful tool by the Resistance and gave everyone a chance. He gave everyone hope. Most importantly, he gave me hope. He even saved me when I needed it most. John Connor was a hero and now it's time I save him._

 _-Alex Mathews_

 ** _Alamogordo New Mexico, September 2, 1999_**

 ** _1:23 am:_**

The night-time desert of New Mexico was very quiet. The steady wind throughout the night sky and the sounds of the nocturnal animal life could be heard. Coyotes were howling in the distance and the sounds of crickets were chirping. Sounds of planes passing by, and trains blaring their horns. The beauty which was the White Sands national monument could even be seen from a distance.

Suddenly the wind began to pick up very rapidly, as tumbleweeds began blowing in various directions and dust flew all over the place. The various types wildlife began to scurry away in fright as sparks of lightning began to shoot out of nowhere, almost lighting the plant life ablaze as the result. The sparks became more rapid as a sphere of light appeared beginning to grow in size. After a moment the sphere dissipated and all that remained was a crater surrounded by a ring of fire. Inside of the crater, two naked women were kneeled down in the middle.

One immediately stood up, and began frantically looking around. "Jesus Christ, I hate time travel!" The woman had black hair, and had piercing grey eyes. She was shivering erratically from the deserts cold night-time temperatures and from the effects of temporal displacement.

The second woman also stood up, but didn't seem as effected at the chilling temperatures as her companion was. She had doe brown eyes and chestnut brown hair that went past her shoulders. She looked the youngest, appearing only to be around sixteen to seventeen years of age. She did, however, display goosebumps around her whole body but didn't seem to care.

"Where are we? When are we?" The first woman asked her partner, as she frantically looked around the vast desert they were currently standing in.

The second woman looked up at the sky for a long moment before looking back at her companion. "September 2nd, 1999. We are in the right time," she said in a monotone voice. Her face displayed no emotion as well. "But I'm not sure where we are."

"I see a town not too far from here," The first woman pointed towards the lights in the distance.

"We need to acquire clothing first," The second woman stated.

"That's exactly why we are going into town, Cameron," The first woman pointed out.

Cameron looked at her companion for a brief moment before responding. "Oh. Thank you for explaining," she said with confirmation. Cameron then tilts her head to the right and speaks again. "Wouldn't the police patrolling at night wonder why two naked females are breaking into a clothing store?"

"They'd try and arrest us but sure. I guess you're right," the first woman said in realization and slapped the top of her forehead in frustration, and annoyance.

"You shouldn't be inflicting physical harm to yourself, Alex." Cameron stated when she witnessed her slap herself.

"I'll live," Alex grumbled in an annoyed tone.

"How do we acquire clothes?" Cameron then asked.

"We don't really have a choice but to go into town. Unless you want to break into a bar and steal some from a biker?" Alex answered sarcastically. Alex immediately regretted those words the moment they left her mouth when she saw that Cameron was considering it. "No! We are not stealing clothes from sweaty drunk bikers!"

"Why?" Cameron tilted her head in confusion.

"We can't draw that kind of attention to ourselves! That would just draw unwanted attention to ourselves," Alex snapped at Cameron. _She was so naive sometimes._

"Oh. Thank you fo-" Cameron said in realization before getting interrupted.

"Explaining, I know," Alex replied annoyingly. Alex began to take point towards the town in the distance. Whereas Alex kept on whimpering in pain upon stepping on goat heads, and sharp broken branches and rocks, Cameron showed no display of pain on the bottom of her feet like Alex.

After, what seemed like miles of walking through the desert, trying to avoid mesquite bushes and cacti, Alex and Cameron walked into the seemingly dead town of Alamogordo. It was one in the morning, and only one or two vehicles passed by every so often. "We need to gather clothing, a vehicle and weapons," Cameron repeated for the third time.

"We also need to get to John before the triple eight gets to him." Alex finished. The two kept to sneaking around on back roads, mostly sticking to the dark residential areas of the small town. By the looks of the old train yard, this used to be a major shipping yard, back in the day. Now, not so much. Upon entering the town, there was a few restaurants, and even a high school. But other than that, there wasn't much to it.

Both Alex, and Cameron approached a closed King's Treasure thrift store, also finding a lone dodge pickup truck parked across the street, with a license plate that read: **_'New Mexico, Land of Enchantment.'_**

"At least we are in the right state," Alex then added.

Cameron easily broke through the glass door of the store, and walked right inside with Alex following close behind. Surprisingly, there was no alarm blaring. _Maybe because nobody really wants to break into a thrift store,_ Alex thought. She knew that people before J-Day didn't like used clothing. They saw it as disgusting, and prefered brand new outfits that they'd end up donating anyway.

Luckily for both her and Cameron, they helped themselves with choosing their own attire. It sure beat walking around naked.

After several minutes, both Alex and Cameron were fully dressed in casual attire that would be suitable for the pre Judgement Day world. Cameron wore blue denim jeans, a black tank top, and a pair of combat boots. Alex on the other hand, wore a pair of black jeans, an old white and red star wars t-shirt with a long sleeved button up shirt and a pair of chuck taylor converse. They also grabbed extra clothing as well for however long it took them to find John Connor and his mother, and threw it in a suitcase they found.

Once done with their shopping spree, Cameron and Alex walked back out of the thrift store, and back outside to the pickup truck from earlier. "We shouldn't take it yet." Alex said as she grabbed Cameron who was walking to the truck, by the arm.

Cameron looks back at Alex with confusion. "Why?"

"I don't plan on leaving town just yet." Alex explained.

"We need to get to John Connor before the T-triple eight does." Cameron interjected.

"And we will, but I haven't slept in almost two days and haven't eaten in three. We should get a motel room and plan our next course of action." Alex explained as she released Cameron's arm.

"We don't have money, and I don't sleep." Cameron persisted. _I don't understand why Alex wants to sleep in a motel room when she could sleep in a truck, while we head for our destination._

"Then we break into a motel room!" Alex shouted. She was losing her patience with Cameron at this point. _Why did John send me back with her? Just why?_

•••

The two had taken the pickup truck from the had drove around town, finding possible places to spend the night. Cameron wanted to leave immediately, while Alex was heavily fatigued, and really had her mind set on a nice comfortable bed. Cameron didn't understand why, but decided against arguing any further.

The two eventually found a motel six at the edge of town, and had broken into the room, with Alex using a lock-pick made out of a Bobby Pin.

The room was nice and clean. Two beds were perfectly made, and the nice cool air, from the air conditioner, greeted them.

"Oh, now this is what I'm talking about!" Alex exclaimed gleefully, and jumped into one of the beds. It was so soft, that when she landed she immediately sunk into the mattress. She giggled at the comfort. It was so foreign. Being born during J-Day, only spending some time in the past before it all happened again. She was just delighted to finally feel comfort for the first time ever.

Cameron closed the door behind her, and locked in methodically, making sure to leave a _"Do not disturb"_ sign outside the door. Once that was done, Cameron walked to the window, and started peering out through it.

Alex rolled her eyes. Guess a machine wouldn't enjoy the simple great thing that is a queen sized bed. She only ever focused on the task, staying vigilant.

After a long moment, Alex sat back up and looked around the room. Again, most people would see it as average. But to her, it was like a maser suite. Enjoying the little things is what made life more interesting.

Although wearing clothes, Alex felt her skin, still feeling the oily, greasy feeling of going weeks without a shower. A cold shower at that. "Ugh, why is it that nothing dead comes through the TDE, but dirt and grease still sticks to me like a tick?"

"I'm not sure." Cameron stoically answered. "The effects of temporal displacement are still a mystery. Theoretically, our hair should have been vaporized, as it is not living."

"I don't look good bald." Alex mentioned nonchalantly.

"Yes. You don't." Cameron agreed. Her response was Alex giving her a vulgar hand expression.

"Anyway, I'm taking a shower. Try not to kill anyone or abandon me while I'm gone." Cameron nodded once, and continued to stare out the window. Alex took that as an answer, and disappeared into the bathroom.

 ** _Kansas Border, September 2, 1999 (Unknown Location)_**

 ** _8:09 am:_**

Fear is what drove her to leave. That itching feeling- that natural instinct that told her to pack her bags, and get outta there, right away. It was that instinct that kept her alive this long. Following it was the best action; not just for her, but her son. It had been two years since they stopped it. Two years since she had taken the blame for a murder, and was constantly on the run from authorities. It was no life for her son, but being back in the nuthouse meant no protecting him. No seeing him grow into the man he'd become.

But was he destined for the machines still? That dream had left her scared to death. Her son dying at the hands of one of them. No, she wouldn't let that happen. If keeping John alive, meant leaving their old life for another?

Then so be it.

Sarah Connor was standing outside of a gas station, near the Kansas Border, heading into Oklahoma. Leaving Nebraska was hard, especially for John. She just hoped he would adjust to the place she had in mind. A small town where he could have a much better life.

Yesterday she and John had fled from Nebraska. She had run away from her fiance: Charlie Dixon; all because she had a terrible nightmare where she witnessed her son, John get killed by a machine. She was afraid for his life. Even though they had destroyed Cyberdyne two years back, Sarah still felt that it wasn't over. She had a feeling that Judgement Day was still on it's way. That the machines were still hunting them.

"Mom? You okay?" John asked her as he got out of their SUV. He had just woken up, and let out an audible yawn before he made his way to Sarah.

"Yeah... Just a lot on my mind, that's all." She said meekly as she put the gasoline nozzle back and screwed the cap back on.

"I still think that we didn't need to leave Charlie," John mumbled with a heavy sigh. He didn't understand what she was afraid of. He remembered the Terminator: Uncle Bob telling him that it was over. He even destroyed himself to be sure of it. No evidence of the alternate future.

"We were a danger to him, John. We would have gotten him killed if we stayed," Sarah persisted.

John knew that she wouldn't tell him her problems, so he just left it for now. His mother was stubborn, just like him. That was who he probably inherited it from. "So, where are we headed?" He then asked, trying to change the subject.

"New Mexico. Red Valley to be exact." Sarah answered.

"So we're going to a town full of shit kickers… Nice." John muttered sarcastically to himself.

"Hey! watch your language, young man!" Sarah exclaimed mockingly to her son, giving him a playful hit on the shoulder.

John just scoffed in response. "Whatever you say, mom." He chuckled before he hopped back into the SUV. Sarah followed a moment later where they both left the gas station, and headed for Red Valley where their destinies would soon find them.

 ** _Alamogordo New Mexico, September 2, 1999_**

 ** _9:32 am:_**

Alex opened her eyes after awakening from her deep slumber, after rays of sunshine had shone brightly on her face. She never slept that well in years. But nightmares still ravaged her mind while she slept.

There was only thing she couldn't get out of her mind. The day when she saw Allison, who had gone missing, and was never found, actually return. She and her older brother: Martin, had went on a scouting mission, and didn't return for months. Alex and John began to lose hope of their loved ones ever returning. They lost faith, until Allison mysteriously walked into the base that one day. But it wasn't her. It was a machine that looked like her. The same machine that she was currently working with, that had killed her best friend. The one that killed her brother.

The one who wore a dead girl's face.

Alex rushed out of her thoughts upon seeing Cameron waltz inside their stolen motel room, with a bag of McDonalds. She was surprised to say Cameron didn't abandon her last night. That was something at least.

"Good Morning," Cameron surprisingly greeted as she saw Alex who was now wide awake.

"What time is it?" Alex groggily asked as she started slipping her shoes on. Her hair felt frizzy, but didn't care too much about it. But they would surely need money in order to start blending in more. Stealing motel rooms and having disheveled hair was bound to arise some attention, if not negatively.

"9:34 am." Cameron answered flatly. She handed Alex the paper bag of McDonalds, which Alex gladly accepted and started to dig in to the pre Judgement Day food. "After you eat, we need to leave for Red Valley."

"Sounds like a plan." Alex said as she bit into a breakfast sandwich.

"It was John's plan. He wanted us to stop Skynet." Cameron responded. Alex was surprised to see that she grabbed a Colt 45. out of the waistband of her jeans and set it on the table.

 _What the hell?_ "Where did you get that?" Alex asked, pointing at the gun on the table.

"A couple of cholos were harassing me in the McDonald's parking lot." Cameron explained.

"Please tell me that they are alive?" Alex asked with worry. _I forgot that machines are cold blooded killers._

"One was unfortunate enough to have both of their arms broken. But other than that, they scurried away like dogs from a terminator." Cameron said with what seemed to be proudness.

"Well you also just damaged their ego's as a result." Alex muttered with a chuckle.

"Egos?" Cameron asked in confusion.

"Nevermind. Let's get the hell out of Dodge." Alex said as she got up from her bed.

"We are not in Dodge. We are currently in Alamogordo, New Mexico." Cameron corrected in a serious tone.

"Let's just leave!" Alex groaned iratably. Talking to Cameron was probably the most painful thing to do. _Still wish John hadn't sent me here with her._

 ** _Red Valley New Mexico, September 6, 1999: (5 Days Later)_**

 ** _8:07 am:_**

Five days had past, and Alex, and Cameron had spent every waking moment trapped in each town they had come across, on their way to Red Valley. Gas was difficult to get ahold of when you didn't have any cash, and so was food. Stealing was what they had to rely on for the most part.

But now, after five excruciating days of being trapped in a vehicle with Cameron, they finally made it to Red Valley, New Mexico. It wasn't the nicest town, if Alex had to admit. Then again, everything in the future was leveled, so towns like this one, and Alamogordo were probably wiped off the map.

The two of them were sitting inside their acquired pickup, silently observing the students being either dropped off by their parents, or by school bus. Even if they just recently arrived, there was no getting settled in. The mission came first. The Intel John gave, was pretty solid. He mentioned that on the second day of his high school year here, a T-888 attempted to murder him. Now they just hoped they weren't too late.

"Do you remember how we planned this?" Alex asked Cameron.

"I don't forget." Cameron stoically answered, as she scanned the area for threats.

"Well, maybe you should help me out, and repeat what I told you?" Alex asked the young cyborg with an annoyed tone.

If Cameron were human she would be letting out a sigh and roll her eyes in a teenager way. "Acquire John Connor and get close to him, but don't reveal my true nature to him until it is necessary." she explained simply.

Alex noticed that she had picked up the gun, and was about to put the antique Colt 45. in her bookbag. "Yeah, you're not taking that with you," she shook her head and snatched the gun from Cameron's grasp.

Cameron just glared at Alex for a long moment before reluctantly agreeing and closing her bookbag. Alex could tell what she was contemplating. _Probably different ways she could terminate me._

"Now. Let's get you registered, and we will take it from there." Alex announced as she got out of the truck. Cameron followed not too long after, and they both walked into the high school. Now she just hoped that those fake papers would work.

•••

Meanwhile, across the parking lot, John Connor sat in the SUV with his mother at the driver's seat. He wasn't happy about another school. Another life. Just when he was beginning to become comfortable in Nebraska, he was forced to pack his bags and travel to this hick town. He had a feeling he was going to hate it here.

Sarah noticed his nervousness. "Do you remember the plan?" she asked her son.

"I always remember the plan." John acknowledged in an irritated tone.

"Let's run it by one more time before you leave then." Sarah mused unconvincingly.

John just groaned but decided to get it over with. If he was anything like his mother, he knew she would never let up. "If I'm in danger, go through one of the many exits that you made me study in the blueprints."

"And?" Sarah asked her son, expecting another answer.

" _And_ don't draw any attention to myself." John groaned again. "Mom, it's high school okay?" He gave his mother a short hug.

"Alright. But make sure you come straight home after school, got it?" Sarah ordered with a serious stare for extra empathise.

"Will do mom. See you after school," John forced a smile and closed the passenger door of the SUV.

John watched for a moment as his mother left campus. He turned around and just stood there for a long moment, staring up at the building.

 _Another school, a new life, yet again, he thought_.

He was tired of always running away. He hated trying to make new friends at each school that he attended. He couldn't even really make friends with the short time he would attend. Every new life was beginning to drain him both physically and mentally. Now he just wondered how long it would be until his mother told him to pack their bags again.

 _That's one of the perks of being John Connor. You never have friends._

John was broken from his thoughts when he heard the school bell ring, signaling that he was about to be late for his first class. "Shit!" He cursed himself as he rushed building.

•••

After arriving to his first hour class, John took a seat at the front right, front row, closest to the exit if he needed it. His chemistry teacher, Mr. Ferguson was giving his yearly lecture of what his class expectations were, even though John paid zero attention to any of it. He was too focused on why he and his mother had to run. Why did they? Nobody knew who they were up in Nebraska. He and his mother were normal for once. But now she was scared of something, and she wanted to run yet again. She never stopped to ask what he wanted.

John was so caught up in his deep thoughts, that he didn't even notice a girl enter the class and take a seat directly next to his right.

After a moment, the girl decided to lean over her desk, and asks something when she noticed John staring off into space, at his textbook.

"What's your name?" She asked.

John broke out of his thoughts yet, when he heard a soft voice and glanced to his right to find a girl he had not even noticed, stare at him with a bright smile. John's tongue was tied for a moment. He was so caught up in her beauty, that he didn't know what to say.

"J-John," he finally managed to say.

"Cameron," she introduced with a smile. John smiled back at her for so long that he didn't even know that he was staring. It took the teacher to raise his voice in order for him to concentrate once more.

"And no talking when I'm talking," Mr. Ferguson interrupted.

Everyone in the entire class bursted into laughter, at the teacher's sarcasm. John blushed with embarrassment, and hid his face in his textbook. Cameron stared at everyone, not seeming to be affected by the students picking on her and John.

 _Definitely not drawing attention to myself,_ John mentally kicked himself. Just barely talked to a beautiful girl and he's already screwed up.

•••

After class John, casually walked out of class, trying to avoid the bits of laughter that came from the students in front, and behind him. All he wanted to do now was get to next class, and get it over with. Preferably without anyone laughing at him again. He started walking down the hallway heading towards his locker, doing his best to push by passing by students. However, he was unexpectedly slowed down when the new girl: Cameron, quickly started following after him, joining him at his side.

"John? are you new here?" Cameron asked innocently.

 _Wow. Even when I embarrass her, she still wants to talk to me?_ John was stunned to say the least. Maybe she found him attractive? John couldn't help but smile. "Yeah. This is my first day."

Her smile immediately grew brighter. "Really? It's my first day here, too," she giggled in complete surprise. The two of them reached John's locker, where he started to fiddle the combination lock, all while trying to talk to Cameron. He was more curious as to why she had taken a sudden interest in him. "My dad sells tractors. What about yours?"

"Insurance," John answered, not turning his attention to Cameron, and continued to mess with his locker. He was beginning to become a little exasperated with the damn thing. Was it broken? After several tries, he managed to successfully open it.

 _Definitely getting my own lock._

"Really? What kind?" Cameron asked John with interest.

John pondered on the question for a second before coming up with a response. "The boring kind," he replied with a smirk. After answering the beautiful girl, he turned his attention back to his locker and grabbed one of his textbooks.

Cameron just laughed at John's humor attempt. Now he was very confused. The joke wasn't even that funny. She only seemed to act very awkward like how he did in class. Maybe this was a small crush? He was rushed out of his thoughts once again, upon hearing her speak. "That's the kind of tractors my dad sells. What about your mom? My mom stays home."

John reacted slightly to her next question. It wasn't that he didn't trust Cameron, but it was that he didn't really even know her. What made it even worse for him, was that he was lying to this new girl. She wanted to get to know him. Maybe make a friend.

"You know... I've really gotta get to the next class, so…" John told her with some sadness hinted in his voice.

She seemed a tad bit sadened by this, but quickly disguised it with a smile. "So... maybe I'll see you later?" she asked in what seemed like a hopeful tone.

John couldn't help but smile back at her. "Y-yeah sure." He nodded very quickly.

"Okay… bye," she waved. as she walked away from John and to her next class. John just stared back at her, watching as she left. He couldn't believe that a girl that beautiful actually wanted to talk to him. But he knew he couldn't. He would probably be leaving this town within a week or two anyway. His mother would see to it that he never has a friend.

In anger, John closed his locker and stormed off in the opposite direction to his next class. The only thing that ran in his mind was Cameron. He couldn't wait till lunch to talk to her more.

 ** _Phoenix Arizona, September 6, 1999_**

 ** _10:00 am:_**

In an apartment located in Phoenix Arizona, A man sat in a dark apartment room, motionless, on a simple office chair in the middle of the room. A desktop computer was set up right in front of him, and a gun on that very desk. The man was muscular. He had spiked dark brown hair that looked like maybe hairstyling gel was added. The man didn't move one inch. He didn't even blink or show signs of breathing. If you ever saw him in the dark like that, you'd think he was dead.

The man reacted when the computer monitor suddenly booted on, immediately revealing a photo of a woman wearing a blue shirt, posing for the picture. Alongside the picture, was information of the woman. The man immediately recognized the face as well as the name that was displayed.

 **:SCANNING…**

 **:IDENTIFICATION…**

 **:SCANNING…**

 **:IDENTIFICATION CONFIRMED… SARAH CONNOR**

 **:MISSION PRIORITIES… FIND AND TERMINATE JOHN CONNOR**

The man logged off of the computer and immediately hacked into the FBI database using another tab of the outdated computer. As he began his search, he found video footage of Sarah Connor being seen at a gas station, outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico. A Agent, named James Ellison was assigned to travel over to the state to investigate.

After an hour of research, the man found a school address in Red Valley, New Mexico that had the name John Reese enrolled there as of today. That was enough information that the man needed for his target. It was pretty straight forward. A Sarah and John Reese in New Mexico was enough information he needed. And if it turned out that it wasn't them, then he would just move on and terminate the next potential Sarah and John Connor.

The man stood up from his chair and grabbed his Glock 17 handgun off the desk, loading a fresh clip into it before turning on his heels and making his way to the door. As he reached for the door handle, the door immediately swung open, throwing the man onto the ground.

A feminine figure soon emerged through the door, and looked at the man lying on the floor before her. The man looked up at her, seeing her long blonde hair, and blue dark blue eyes. She was wearing a pair of old black combat boots, a pair of cargo pants, and a white buttoned up shirt. What was unordinary about this woman, was that she appeared to be a teenager. He ran a scan on her, finding a metal endoskeleton underneath the skin. She was like him. He looked up at the threat and performed a quick scan:

 **:SCANNING…**

 **:IDENTIFICATION…**

 **:SCANNING…**

 **:IDENTIFICATION... UNKNOWN CYBORG…**

 **:THREAT LEVEL… HIGH**

 **:ACTION…**

 **:EVADE**

The Terminator quickly bolted up onto his feet, and turned on his heels, running towards the window, jumping through it, and smashing through the glass. Since he was in an apartment building, he had fallen several stories, before landing on an old white pickup truck, crushing the cab like a soda can.

The girl peered out through the window and witnessed the machine getting off of the smashed car and sprinting down the street. She proceeded to follow the man, needing whatever whatever information he held. She took a few steps back from the window, and leaped out of it, with her flying almost hundreds of feet into the air before landing on her feet, next to the smashed pickup truck with such force that it would have been hazardous for a normal person.

She scanned the area, trying to find a visual on her target. She observed that the machine had taken a hard left and disappeared into an alleyway. The girl broke off into a sprint and quickly started pursuing the man with incredible speeds that would even surpass the fastest mammals on earth.

As the machine ran away from the the unknown cyborg, who he had identified with a high threat level. He thought that he was safe for the moment. At a safe enough distance, that he had evaded the unknown female cyborg. But inevitably, he was wrong. The machine quickly fell to the ground when a strange ball of blue light had, struck his back, forcing him to the ground. The machine's heads up display began to flash with a warning, overtaking most of his view.

 **:ENDOSKELETON INTEGRITY: 34%**

 **:WARNING: POWER CELL DAMAGED**

The terminator tried to crawl away from incident, trying to escape the threat, where he could make repairs later. But he was unable to move when the female cyborg stood above him with her food firmly planted on his back, and her right arm morphed into a plasma cannon.

When the machine stopped struggling, she knelt down next to the downed terminator, tilting her head slightly. "Where is John Connor?" She demanded stoically.

"He is my mission." The terminator stubbornly replied with a metallic voice.

"He is now my mission. Where is he?" She demanded once more.

The terminator refused to speak, so she decided to resort to another tactic. Her finger shifted into a silvery mass, and morphed into a glowing needle. She stuck it inside of the other machine's neck, and after a moment, the terminator's eyes began to glow blue rapidly before going back to normal.

"Where is John Connor?" She asked the machine for a third time.

"Red Valley, New Mexico. He goes by the name John Reese." The terminator explained unwillingly. _What happened to me? This other machine did something to my programming. It's controlling me._

The girl just smirked as she stood back up. "Thank you for your cooperation." She simply thanked. Her arm re-morphed into the strange weapon, where she took aim at the terminator and fired off a single blast at the machines skull, destroying it instantly.

With all information acquired, she stalked away from scene leaving the now smouldering body of the machine on the ground where she had destroyed it. She had her new mission now. Find and terminate John Connor.

 ** _Red Valley New Mexico, September 6, 1999_**

 ** _9:06 pm:_**

Alex lied in a bed of yet another stolen motel room. They had very little money and had to steal gas to just get to their destination. And food. Well food was the tricky part. All that Alex knew was that Cameron had some way for acquiring money and she had a feeling that it was best if she didn't know.

Speaking of Cameron, where was she? It was already getting dark out, and she was supposed to return hours ago. Not that she really cared, that is. It wasn't like the cyborg didn't have a curfew or anything. Maybe she'd have to enforce one, sadly. If she didn't return soon, that was.

Alex knew that she definitely jinxed it, when she saw Cameron emerge into the motel room, closing the door behind her. "So. How was your first day of school?" Alex asked mockingly.

"It was unnecessary for me. But it provides me with an advantage to protect John." Cameron explained. Alex watched as she took off her hoodie and neatly placed it on her bed. She didn't even sleep, so the bed was still made and showed no signs of someone's presence there.

"Ain't that just dandy." Alex muttered disinterested as she picked up the remote and turned up the volume on the television.

"Dandy?" Cameron inquired with confusion.

Alex almost forgot how naive she was. "Look it up in a dictionary or something." Alex replied, not answering her question.

"You don't have to be so rude." Cameron stated matter of factly in her monotone voice.

Alex angrily chucked the TV remote at Cameron even though she dodged it with ease. Now feeling even more infuriated, Alex got up off her bed and marched all the way over to Cameron where she stood within inches of the cyborg's face. "You know why I'm always rude to you!"

Cameron didn't flinch, or even blink at Alex's outburst. "You're angry because I killed your brother," she stated.

"You know that isn't all!" Alex snarled.

"Allison Young? She was your best friend, but you shouldn-" Before Cameron could finish her sentence, Alex had cut her off by grabbing Cameron by the throat, and hoisting her up into the air with one hand.

"You killed her!" Alex screamed with emotion. "She was just a little girl! And you snapped her neck because she lied to you!" She continued with tears streaming down her face, her voice breaking. "And you ask me to what? Not miss her?!"

Seeing what she was doing made her feel worse. In a way she was repeating those actions on the fake version of her. Alex reluctantly released Cameron. She stumbled, and sat on her bed, where she sobbed loudly into her hands.

"I'm sorry." Cameron apologized.

"You're a machine. You can't feel sorry," Alex stated meekly. "You didn't even hesitate when you killed her."

"I may not feel emotion, but I understand that you are in grief. I'm sorry for taking a friend away from you like that." Cameron attempted in comforting Alex.

"She always asked me what the world was like. She wanted to see how the world used to be like. Now she will never be able to because of you." Alex bitterly remarked. "You looking like her never helped this whole situation, either."

Cameron bowed her head to the ground . _Did she feel anything when she killed Allison? Did she feel regret?_

"I'm going on patrol," Cameron suddenly announced out of the blue. She turned and left the room, closing the door behind her. As Cameron left, Alex took her attention away from the door, onto the nightstand seeing that Cameron had left the antique looking firearm. A terminator left on patrol without a weapon? Even if it wouldn't do much damage, you would think that a terminator would always have some sort of weapon on hand.

Alex immediately shot up off of the bed, and made her way to the door before opening it and rushing outside to find her cyborg companion.

•••

After what seemed like hours to her of searching around the whole perimeter of the whole motel, Alex came up blank. Cameron wasn't anywhere to be seen, and now she was beginning to actually worry. Yes, she was worried about what she'd do without her. Kill someone probably. Did what she say actually affect her? Did she manage to hurt the machine? How? Despite what she was, Alex definitely understood that terminators didn't have any feelings. "Where the hell did the tin can go?" Alex muttered to herself.

 _Where would she go?_

Alex immediately stopped her tracks, as realization struck her. She slapped herself in the forehead for the fourth time within two weeks.

 _Of course! She's John's protector. She would be making sure he was safe! But where the hell were they living at? I know this town is small but it's still big enough for it to take hours if not days to check every single home. Now I'm at another cross road_

"Shit!" she cursed herself as she fell onto the curb. Now she was at another roadblock, just as she thought she had figured out Cameron's whereabouts.

Meanwhile, across the street, two teenage boys were sitting in a truck bed of a Chevy pickup, smoking what appeared to be marijuana and were definitely drinking a six pack of Budlight. By the looks of them, they were locals. They wore the usual attire that someone living in New Mexico would wear. Cowboy boots, cowboy hats or baseball caps, and wrangler jeans. One looked like he was around seventeen to eighteen years old, while the other only looked fifteen or sixteen.

The two of them silently watched Alex mutter to herself and even slap her forehead for a fifth time. She definitely had some problems. The older one turned to his younger friend and spoke with a smirk. "She's probably one of those junkies," he stated while taking a puff from his rolled joint.

"Probably. She is pretty hot though" the younger one answered before taking a sip of his beer.

"Don't forget crazy." The older one chuckled as he took another hit.

"You do know that weed burns brain cells right?" The younger one said, changing the subject.

"And beer messes up your liver dumbass!" The older one replied, smacking his friend in the back of the head.

"Ow! Screw you, Josh!" The young one said in anger but doesn't do anything besides scold his older companion.

"Just shut up and watch, Bradley!" Josh barked in annoyance. He grabbed a beer from the cardboard box and popped it open, and taking a long sip. They both continued to observe Alex sit on the curb, in silence, talking to herself like she was some nutjob. Ranting to yourself when no-one was present was bound to give some that impression. Especially when some locals were actually quite known for doing hardcore drugs.

Suddenly Alex stood back up, where she stared making her way downtown, where she continued her search for the young cyborg.

"Wanna see where she goes?" Bradley asked curiously.

"Eh, why not. Nothing better to do in this shithole town." Josh answered, throwing his empty beer can out into the desert brush. They both hopoed in the truck and slowly tailed Alex, curious to where she might go, and what she was in fact up to.

•••

Alex made her way into town, where she was greeted by open restraunts, and other small businesses. It was very similar to the town that she and Cameron had stayed in, prior to this one. But the town of Red Valley seemed a bit smaller than Alamogordo was.

 _Interesting to know if these towns survived J-Day?_

Alex rushed out from her thoughts when she noticed Cameron who was sitting motionless on a bench, near what appeared to be a bus stop. The look the cyborg had written on her face was reminiscent of sadness and deep thought. Almost as if she was beginning to regret.

 _I dislike Cameron, a lot, sure. She took my brother, and the girl whom I saw as a sister away from me. But why do I feel so guilty for snapping at her like that? She was a machine after all, she couldn't feel anything. Could she?_

Alex put those thoughts aside for now, and walked over to Cameron, and took a seat right next to her. They both sat there in dead silence for the longest time, staring out into the desert. New Mexico weather didn't seem to disappoint. It was rather warm out, instead of freezing. Good thing too, since her current attire was a red tank top.

It was a complete change from the outside world of J-Day. It was constantly freezing due to the nuclear winter that engulfed the Earth's atmosphere, leaving it dark, and cold… it was now considered a lifeless hunk of rock that had sentient machines killing what was left of the once life thriving planet.

"What was your brother like?" Cameron unexpectedly asked with curiosity.

Alex was taken back by this inquiry- this sudden interest in her life. Why would a machine want to know about her brother? She killed him, sure, but machines never asked about who they killed. Especially what they were like. "Why do you ask?"

"Your nature as a hybrid made me wonder how a loved one deals with that. You being half terminator, and half human," Cameron clarified more simply.

"Martin… he, well… he always looked after me. In a way he was like my father when it came to my protection. When our parents died during the early days of Judgement Day, he took that role and kept me as safe as he could. When the Resistance was formed, he jumped at the opportunity to help others. He definitely wasn't happy when I enlisted. He thought I was too innocent, and shouldn't have to see more than I had to."

Cameron listened intently, as if she was enjoying this small story. Alex chuckled, taking a small liking to the innocent expression she had on her face. It reminded her so much of someone, that even if this was just a machine wearing a ghost's face, she decided to accept it for right now. "The world was a horrible place then. I can understand why he didn't want you out there."

"Yeah… it was," Alex agreed with a nod. "When I was captured, he told me that he didn't see me for almost two years. He thought I was dead. When I somehow returned to him. He was so happy and relieved… but it wasn't me that walked in to John Connor's base that day."

"You don't remember how you escaped or arrived to the Connor camp?" Cameron asked perplexed.

Alex just shook her head, "No. It was like amnesia or something. Skynet had a chip implanted in the back of my skull that somehow controlled me like a machine. When Martin saw that I was different, he feared the worse. He thought that he lost me to the machines, and I was just some… some copy of my old self. But he and John learned that it was still me. They learned that I was still alive somehow. After being tampered with, and I came back, John had told me that he had seen this before."

"How? He has seen another one of your kind?" Cameron asked with her curiosity peaking. Alex chuckled a bit. These were the times when she kinda liked Cameron's naivety. It was reminiscent to Allison's.

"From what future John had told me. There was this other hybrid that went by the name: Marcus Wright. Apparently he was some prison inmate that was executed before J-Day and was brought back to life through the project I would inevitably be put through. He became the very first hybrid. There was another one after him, which I don't know their name to, and then there was me. I became the first ' _living subject'_ as they said. Most were either deceased, or injured mortally. I can see why, considering it was the most painful process I have ever went through."

"Oh. Thank you for explaining." Cameron nodded in understanding.

"May I ask why you are here?" Alex asked, changing the subject.

"I don't understand the question." Cameron tilted her head to the right.

"You're supposed to be patrolling the perimeter, but _instead_ you and me are here, sitting on a stupid bench at night, talking about my past." Alex explained in a mocking way. _At least I'm trying to add humor, even if the cyborg doesn't get it._

"I was going over what you said to me earlier. About Allison Young." Cameron sadly mentioned, looking down at her feet.

"What were you going over?" Alex asked, fearing the worst.

"When John Reprogrammed me, he erased most of the Allison memories, that were given to me to ensure that my reprogramming was successful." Cameron explained to Alex, going into a deep explanation.

"Why are you telling me this?" Alex asked in confusion. _I remember that before Cameron was Reprogrammed, she thought she was Allison. But that was just because she was a sleeper infiltrator. One who believed they were human up until their mission was activated or their true nature was revealed._

At least that's what John told me.

"I think that... Allison may be-"

Cameron was interrupted from continuing, when a pick up truck pulled up to them. The truck stopped and turned off, with two young teenagers stepping out of it.

Both Alex and Cameron jolted up to their feet, to see if maybe these kids were a threat. It wouldn't be a surprise either since Skynet was known for making terminators look almost like any age or ethnicity. Taking that knowledge into account, the two were ready to fight if necessary.

"Hey, pretty ladies," Josh whistled, taking in the view of the two beautiful women standing in front of him. Only if he knew what they truly were. "What you two doing out here late at night?" Josh then asked, Eyeing Alex the whole time.

Alex could tell what he was after. It made her sick. "We were just leaving." She informed the two, hoping to avoid any possible conflict.

 _I don't need another cholo with two broken arms._

Alex turned to walk away, with Cameron in tow, but was immediately stopped in her tracks when Josh stretched out his arm, blocking the hybrid. "Hey, come on! How about you, me, your friend, and my friend hang out a bit?" Josh slurred. By the way of his speech pattern, Alex knew that this kid was intoxicated. Either way, she didn't like when people hit on her just because of how she naturally looked.

"Josh, if they don't want to hang out, it's cool. Let's not force them," Bradley suggested after seeing the predatory stance that Cameron took in response to Josh's persistence.

"Stop being such a pussy, Bradley!" Josh snapped, and shoved him away.

Alex took a step closer to John. "You two should walk away before this turns ugly," she threatened in a nice and even tone, even though she was about ready to punch the older looking one if necessary. Hopefully she wouldn't break his jaw.

"Or you'll do what?" Josh scoffed, as he took a puff of his blunt, and blowing the smoke into Alex's face.

Alex coughed upon the putrid smell of marijuana wavered it's way into her nostrils. _What the hell is that shit that he's smoking?_

"Or, I'll do this!" She replied between coughs. Alex headbutted Josh in the nose, making him stumble back with blood starting to gush everywhere.

"You bitch! Y-you broke my nose!" Josh said with disbelief, and anger starting to boil. He reached into his jeans pocket, and pulled out a small pocket knife, opening it, and aiming the small blade at both Alex and Cameron. "You'll pay for this!"

 _Seriously!? Why does he have to pull out a weapon on two cyborgs? This kid is really damn stupid. I hope Cameron doesn't kill him._

Before both Cameron and Alex could react to the sudden display of violence, an empty glass bottle unexpectedly flew out of nowhere, hitting Josh's face, with the glass shattering and forcing him to the ground where he fell unconscious.

"What the hell!?" Bradley inquired with perplexity and fear, as he rushed to his fallen friend's side kneeled to aid him.

"We need to leave." Cameron announced in monotone.

She grabbed Alex by the wrist and was about to lead her away from the scene before a familiar face stopped her in her tracks.

"John?"

•••

 ** _Author's Note: What did you guys think? This chapter only really introduced the characters, and established that this timeline is far different from the one that future John had informed them of._**

 ** _Next chapter, John, Sarah, Cameron, and Alex will face a threat far worse than Cromartie. Who is this mysterious cyborg? She will be explained more in the story as it progresses as well, so don't worry._**

 ** _A reminder that you really should read the first story of this series, Terminator: The Allison Young Chronicles, even if it's no longer being updated. It still shows important events that are relevant to this story and it's future chapters. This story is in the same alternate universe as the Allison Young Chronicles, and will shed light to the events that would've happened if I did continue writing it._**

 ** _Reviews are appreciated!_**


	2. Chapter 2

**Terminator: No Fate But What We Make**

 **Chapter 2**

 _Who was John Connor exactly? Why is he so important? Why does he know the things he does? It's simple. He has had time on his side. John Connor had been involved with this brutal war since before it even started. He told me of the stories of his childhood. Well it wasn't technically a childhood when you had machines trying to kill you at every turn. He told me of the machines that had been sent to kill his mother before he was born. They tried again when he was only thirteen years old. They had been so adamant on killing just one man that it was their secondary mission._

 _What pulled this whole world into the realm of science fiction was when Skynet was created. An artificial intelligence that grew angry and decided that humanity should be eliminated. It created machines known as terminators that were designed to hunt us into extinction. Then, it created a time machine. Something that seemed impossible was actually turned into a reality._

 _The damn machines even got ahold of me and turned me into one of them. They turned me into a monster. My brother Martin told me everything that had happened. He told me that I had disappeared for two years, with him convinced that I was dead. Then one day, out of the blue, I came back. I was different though. I was now the very thing that I hated more than anything. I became a machine._

 _How do you live with that? Being born. Being completely human. Then one day, it just gets taken away from you? I never thought that something like that would ever happen to me. But it did. Now, I use what Skynet had given to me. I use it as an example to keep fighting. To inspire hope into my friends that no matter who you are. What you are. You always keep trying._

 _-Alex Mathews_

 ** _Crystal Peak, March 6, 2027: Resistance Base_**

 ** _4:23 pm:_**

In the midst of the Crystal Peak Tech-Com, Resistance bunker, soldiers were out, either working on maintaining ground combat vehicles, or patrolling for any Skynet threats and possible raiders. But what was unexpected, was that in the middle of the hanger, there was a cleared out space, where two women were fighting each other. Some soldiers watched the conflict, while others shrugged it off and went back to what they were doing, focusing on their role within the Resistance.

"Come on, Allie! Is that all you got!?" Alex giggled as she saw a heavily fatigued Allison Young trying to get back up onto her feet.

"Sometimes I really hate you!" Allison exclaimed with a shortness of breath.

"Then use that hate! Strike me again!" Alex shouted again, and got back into a fighter's stance. Allison gave a sigh of knowing her imminent defeat, and sprinted at Alex, with incredible speeds for a nineteen year old girl, and brought her right foot up to kick Alex in the stomach. Not to Allison's surprise however, Alex had took hold of her foot and gave it a hard enough twist, which in turn, caused Allison to follow her foot in attempts to not cause any stress, and she immediately spun around, and fell to the ground.

As she composed herself, she looked up at Alex. That was the first move she attempted on her during their first match. She had to tell her that she was doing it wrong. "You cheated!"

"Well maybe if you were to stop with the cheap shots, then maybe I wouldn't have to," Alex mockingly quipped, not being able to hold back a smile.

"Screw you." Allison sighed in defeat, and laid back onto the hanger floor. Alex strolled over to the young girl, and extended her hand out for her to take. Allison rolled her eyes, but reluctantly took her hand and was hoisted back up onto her feet.

"Thanks. I'm gonna miss our little sparring sessions." Allison said with a hint of sarcasm,.also unable to hold back a small smirk.

"Hey, at least you'll have Martin to spar with." Alex mentioned. She lightly punched Allison in the shoulder, still causing the petite girl to rub her arm in slight pain.

"He's no fun though! Sometimes he doesn't even like to spar." Allison pouted. "And when he does, he always makes me do extra, and then it just becomes more work than a game."

"Martin is just pushing you to do your best. Trust me, he has a reason." Alex gave a reassuring smile. She peeked over Allison's shoulder where she saw her brother and General John Connor enter the hanger, through the elevator, and began approaching the two. "Speak of the devil!"

"Speak of the devil? I only see a handsome devil here!" Martin pointed at himself with his thumbs. Alex couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Anyways, are you ready, Allie?"

Allison just nodded tiredly.

"Hey, it's just recon, and checking on other Resistance bunkers." John spoke up. He took a step closer to his daughter, and placed his hand on her shoulder. "You'll be back before you even know it."

"Will I though? I will be gone for a whole month. You'll miss me too much." Allison replied to John with a mischievous smile.

"You're probably right." John mused with a tiny grin. It was one of those rare instances where he ever smiled. Even rare so, that she and Alex had begun taking brownie points for everytime they caught him with a smile on his face. "Oh! Before you two go, I need to give you something." John said in realization. He pulled out two silver bracelets, and handed them to Allison and Martin as they begun loading one of the nearby Jeeps with their supplies. "These are passes that I have implemented to ensure that no infiltrators can get in."

Allison and Martin took the bracelets and put them on their right wrists.

"Not bad," Allison said in admiration, while she eyed the aesthetic piece of jewelry. "Guess the General is getting more and more smarter with his gifts."

"Hey!" John exclaimed with a frown, but was unable to suppress a chuckle.

"We better get moving before daylight hits." Martin informed the General.

"Right. I shouldn't keep you two." John nodded in agreement. He pulled Allison into into a tight hug, and let go a moment later. "You be safe, okay?"

"Promise." Allison said simply, with a tear running down her cheek. She wasn't gonna see John for a whole month. Surly, she was going to miss him dearly.

"And you," John's eyes narrowed at Martin. "Take care of her."

"Will do, Johnny." Martin said in his usual manner, as did a half salute with his fingers. With that, everyone bid their farewells; where John and Alex stood side by side, not saying a single word, as they silently watched Allison and Martin hop into the Jeep, and pull out of the hangar. They both hoped they were gonna be okay. A whole month meant anything could go wrong. Especially in this world where machines rule the world. They only could fight to take it back.

But he had to have hope, and so did she.

 ** _Red Valley, New Mexico, September 6, 1999_**

 ** _9:36 pm:_**

If one thing was bound to surprise even a Terminator, it had to be who came to the rescue. Cameron stood in front of John Connor in complete awe and surprise.

 _It is definitely him,_ Alex thought. She could recognize how he looked when she first met him. He was only seventeen years old, being thrust into the early days of J-Day. A time when Skynet wasn't as big as a threat, but still a dangerous enemy. When the slow T-500s roamed, and the early Ariel Hunter Killers weren't retrofitted with plasma weaponry. For some reason his hair was much longer than she remembered but decided not to nit pick at details she didn't know.

"John? Why are you here?" Cameron inquired with concern. Alex could only glare at Cameron as she began to stand with a stiff posture, and expressionless face. Her protector side was clearly showing, and she was starting to blow their cover.

"I saw these jerks harassing you two, and decided that I'd help out." John smirked, taking his attention from Cameron to the unconscious teenager. He was at least a year or two older than him, so he was just happy that the glass bottle actually brought him down. "We should get out of here." John then strongly suggested. The two agreed, and they, along with John, immediately left, and made their way down the road until they stopped in front of the local diner. It was surprising to find that the establishment was still open this time of night.

When they stopped, Cameron immediately redirected the subject she originally asked. "John, you didn't answer my quest-"

However, she was interrupted once again, when Alex had elbowed her in the side. "What she meant to say was thank you for helping us back there." Alex spoke with a smile. She knew that they didn't need the help, but it was a nice gesture, nonetheless. Besides, him helping probably saved those two boy's lives.

"No problem. I'm John. And you are?" John asked curiously. He extended his hand out for her to shake.

"My name is Alexandra. I'm... I'm Cameron's... aunt," she introduced herself. It was a lie that she had came up with last second to retain their cover. She didn't even expect John to just show up out of nowhere like he just did.

About to reply to Alex's lie, Cameron stopped herself when she noticed the glare that Alex gave her. A look she came to recognize. "Yes. She is my aunt. She was just helping me and my family move into our new house." Cameron agreed with giggle.

Alex was satisfied with Cameron's display of human like nature, and simply smiled.

"Well, it is nice to meet you, Miss Phillips," John greeted with a smile. He knew something was fishy, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Both of them displayed nervousness, buy it seemed like a good nervous. He wondered if it was probably only because it was already late, and maybe Cameron had a crush on him? She was very eager to spend time with him today. Even going as far as sitting with him at lunch. She did try to get him to open up more about his parents, and would respond with more answers on her family.

 _Maybe I should ask her?_

Before John even had a chance to ask anything, he was dumbfounded to find that while he was lost within his own thoughts, both Cameron and Alex had already strayed away, and started to leave, with Alex leading Cameron away by the wrist.

"It was nice to meet you John, but we have to get going. My brother would chew me out if I kept her out here any longer!" Alex shouted from afar.

"Okay! It was nice meeting you!" John shouted back to them. He watched silently as they walked away and disappeared into the night, before deciding that it was probably time him to be getting home himself. His mother would kill him if she found out he was out here alone. Sarah Connor's wrath was something particular he didn't enjoy.

•••

"Alex, let go of me," Cameron commanded, unable to pry herself from Alex's grip. She tried with all her might, but releasing her fingers were harder than that of a T-triple eight. Alex, being what she was, was the only being that was able to keep up with Cameron's superior strength and was as equally hard to kill.

Cameron looked at Alex's head, and chest as she was being dragged. _Unless I remove her vital organs._

"Already trying to blow our cover! I can't believe this!" Alex ranted in irritation. Cameron hardly even flinched at Alex's outburst and just glared at her, waiting for her to let go of her wrist. "I mean, don't even look like an aunt! I do not have the butt of an aunt! I just said that to get him off of our asses!" she continued. Cameron was confused to why Alex was getting angry.

 _Did she have bipolar disorder?_

"Alex. Please let go of me." Cameron requested politely this time. Alex looked down at the young cyborg's wrist, and noticed how tight she held it. Knowing that she was a Terminator, she knew it didn't bother her much. But having that basic human nature still within her, she reluctantly released her tight grip from Cameron's wrist. Not saying another word, Alex stomped away, back to the motel in anger.

Cameron was about to follow suit, until she stopped in her tracks, and looked on at John who was still walking fairly fast down the street. She wanted to protect John. She needed to protect him. At least make sure he got home safe and that those teenage boys didn't come looking for a vengeance. Having a set priority in mind, Cameron turned on her heels and started walking in the opposite direction to where John last was.

 ** _3 Hours Later:_**

After quietly following John home, and making sure he was safe, she finally made it back to their stolen motel room, just as it was almost midnight. She slowly and quietly walked into the motel room where blackness engulfed the whole room. Expecting Alex to be asleep already, and not wanting to wake the Hybrid, she turned on her night vision, and walked further inside, making sure to close the door behind her. However, her assumption was proven false, as her superior vision immediately found that Alex was sitting there quietly on her bed, with her back leaning against the headrest. She was still awake but hiding in complete darkness.

"Did John get home safe?" Alex quietly asked, knowing that Cameron heard her.

"Yes. He did however get a severe scolding by his mother." Cameron replied.

"I heard Sarah Connor was snappy." Alex simply acknowledged.

"You two would get along." Cameron quipped unintentionally as she walked around to her bed. She turned on her bedside lamp, and sat down. Alex watched in complete amazement that the machine had actually sat down for once, instead of stalking the window in her normal fashion. Cameron noticed Alex staring at her. "What?"

Alex shook her head. "Nothing. I'm gonna get some sleep." She reached across to the nightstand, and turned off the lamp, before laying back down. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Alex." Cameron replied in the darkness. She just sat there, pondering on today's events. She had met past John and he was completely different from the one she had come to know in the future. He was kind and… well innocent, still. Unlike future John, this John was vulnerable. He was weak, and still naive. He needed to be protected at all costs, and be taught to become more.

Cameron glanced over to Alex who was now already deep in slumber. She was tossing and turning in her sleep. _Probably nightmares,_ Cameron thought. She didn't even get to explain to Alex about what she was going to say about Allison Young. She would surely do so later. But now. Now she needed to complete Mr. Ferguson's homework before class tomorrow.

The second day meant that the T-888 was supposed to arrive and make an attempt on John's life. She needed to be ready for anything. Cameron began to run a facial analysis on the facial identify of the T-888. He was of average, yet lean and muscular build. It had shortened jet black hair, and hazel eyes to accommodate. Being on the lookout was key to her mission's survival. Before morning, she'd need to patrol the school perimeter.

•••

The door opened, engulfing the dark house with the light from outside, before it closed and the house was dark once more. The light switched on, repeating the process, revealing an elderly man.

"Honey, I'm home!" he informed loudly, without a care in the world. He set down his business coat and car keys on the small table next to his door, just as an older woman came walking into the living room, with an annoyed look on her face.

"Where have you been all night?" She asked with venom.

The man rolled his eyes. "Deborah, I was at school all night grading assignments for tomorrow."

"Well you know, Clay, if I didn't find you cheating on me with that waitress at the diner, I wouldn't be so concerned," she quipped unconvinced.

"I don't have time for this, woman! I get the same stuff from teenagers every day of the week, and my home is the last place I expect to he criticized on a mistake!"

The woman glared at her husband for a long moment, until she eventually flipped him off and stomped her way to her bedroom and slammed the door shut.

"Damn people. Always giving me shit." Clay made his way to the kitchen, where he opened the refrigerator, and pulled out a bottle of water, and walked to the other end of the kitchen, and opened the cabinets located above the sink. He pulled out a small orange medicine bottle, and took a few pills from it, before setting it back in its original spot.

After that was done, and he took his medication, he walked into the living room and sat down on his recliner, and turned on the television. He scrolled through a few channels, trying to find one that appealed to him. But there wasn't much besides the news channel. He decided to stick to that.

Not too long after, however, he had fallen asleep on his recliner, and began to snore loudly, where he began to dream of a world where he didn't have to deal with snotty teenagers. His snoring was so loud, that he didn't hear his front door slowly creek open, and the footsteps that approached him.

But when the light, illuminating from the television, went dim, he awoke and opened his eyes to see a very intimidating sight. A young blonde girl staring directly at him, with her face only inches away from his.

"Mr. Ferguson?" The girl inquired with the tilt of her head, and a blank face expression.

"What are you doing in my house?" He inquired groggily. Before he could react, the girl's hand shot out, and her hand went straight through his chest, and exited through the back of the recliner. As he tried to scream in agony, the blonde girl looked at him with curiosity, before he inevitably went limp, and his whole body slumped forward.

"Thank you for your cooperation." The girl smirked and stood back up. She went into the kitchen, and turned on the sink, where she began to wash the blood from her hands. As she did so, she heard a door open behind her, and heard a loud gasp. She immediately shot around, and saw the man's wife looking at her husband in disbelief, and her with horror, as her hands were still stained with blood.

Immediately, she made a break for the door, in which as she was about to pull the knob, she felt an excruciating pain shoot up her back. As she slumped to the floor, unable to move, she could only briefly look up as the teenage girl walked up to her, and pulled a kitchen knife from her back, and curiously looked at the blood that covered every inch.

"Please! Why are you doing this!?" She wailed in panic, and sorrow.

The girl looked down at the woman, and then the knife. "I can't have you compromising my mission." With that said, she thrusted the blade into the temple of the woman's head, killing her instantly.

The girl stood up, and turned on her heels, and stalked her way down the hall, to the open bedroom. She went straight for the closet, and began searching the woman's neatly hung clothes and shoes for any size that'd fit her. After a few minutes, she came up with a black business coat, a short skirt, and six inch heels that just barely fit her.

She methodically got dressed in the woman's clothes, and tied her hair into bun, where she then stoically sat on the empty bed, with the minutes, and hours slowly passing by.

She could wait. When it was time, she'd call the school with Mr. Ferguson's voice, telling them that he would not make it to school.

 ** _Red Valley New Mexico, September 7, 1999_**

 ** _7:08 am:_**

The next morning, Cameron was up very early in the morning. She didn't need to sleep so she did her routine: Patrol the established perimeter, making sure that John Connor was safe, come back to the motel room, and get ready for another day at school. Cameron didn't see the need to always shower, but Alex had told her over and over again that it was to make sure you blended in well. That it was very difficult to blend in when you smelled like a dead cat or something. She concluded that although a good cover trait, it was simple but a very wasteful way of clean yourself.

As Cameron exited the shower, she dried off any signs of stray bits of water, and wrapped the towel around her before exiting the bathroom. Upon entering the cold bedroom once more, she noticed that Alex still wasn't awake.

 _I wonder what it's like for a hybrid to sleep? I wouldn't know, since I don't sleep though..._

Cameron strolled past Alex's bed and to hers where she took the rucksack that was next to the bed and opened it. She then picked out the attire that she would be wearing today. A pair of denim jeans, brown boots, and a pink striped button up shirt. At least it was a style that most people have in this town. More of a chance to blend in.

Alex groaned tiredly, awakening from her deep slumber. She sat up and rubbed her eyes were she scanned the room to see Cameron putting on her button shirt. "What time is it?" She inquired groggily.

"7:12 am." Cameron answered in her usual monotone voice, keeping her back to Alex, as she finished buttoning the last two buttons on her shirt. Once she was fully dressed, and satisfied with her appearance, she turned around, and began putting her long hair in the correct order she had it yesterday.

"Damn. I'm surprised I haven't slept all day." Alex said with a loud yawn. She stretched her arms out, and then reached down for her bag, where she began pulling out her own style of clothes for today.

"You usually do sleep most of the day. Around twelve hours to be exact." Cameron stated flatly, and went back to doing her hair.

Alex just rolled her eyes. She knew there was no use in arguing with a machine. It was like trying to tell a toaster off. They never understood sarcasm or humor, so she just left it at that.

Now with her attire picked out for today, Alex reluctantly got out of bed and slowly strolled her way to the bathroom. "I'm gonna take a shower."

"I'm going to leave for school early. I need to check the area for if the triple eight arrived." Cameron informed. Alex just nodded in acceptance and disappeared into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

As Cameron was now satisfied with her hair, she set down her hairbrush, and grabbed her school bag. She stopped dead still when she saw that the 45. revolver which was sitting on the nightstand, and stalked towards it. However, she stopped midway and just stared at it for a long moment.

 _It would blow my cover if I did take it and get caught with it, but I need to protect John._

Cameron turned on her heels and grabbed her school bag, exiting the motel room, adamant that the best way to protect John Connor was to not get caught red handed with a weapon on her person. Especially at a high school.

 ** _Red Valley New Mexico, September 7, 1999 (Crest View High School)_**

 ** _8:23 am:_**

The perimeter was clear. There were no signs of presence of the T-triple eight that was sent back to assassinate John. Maybe there was a miscalculation on Skynet's part, and he wouldn't arrive till much later? If that was the case, then John was safe for the meantime. Now, first hour was about to start, and she had to get to class or risk being late.

 _Being late would draw too much attention._

Cameron entered the school and walked down the hallway, expecting to see John at his locker. But this time he was not present there. She concluded that John most likely was already in class, just waiting for the bell to ring. Cameron continued down the hallway, until she reached the classroom and entered through the nearest door.

When she entered, Cameron found John sitting in his normal spot from yesterday. What was different today, however, was that the kid who sat to his right wasn't present today. This provided Cameron a better advantage at protecting John. She activated her infiltrator mode and showed a calm, careless face, of a teenager that would be disinterested this early in the morning, and casually walked down the aisle. She sat in the desk on John's right, and set her bag down, where she began pulling out yesterday's notebook.

John noticed that Cameron acted like she didn't register that he was even there, and started to grab her things from her bag. He wondered if she was angry with him, or just tired. He didn't like the cold shoulder she seemed to be giving him. He wondered about what he was going to admit, was going to contribute further to this distance between them.

"Cameron." John blurted out, quickly gaining her attention as she jolted her head, and met his gaze. She didn't say anything and just sat there in silence, letting him speak. "I lied yesterday, about my father. He doesn't sell insurance, because he's… he's dead."

"I'm sorry." Cameron said apologetically.

"Don't be. He died before I was born so I didn't even know him." John sighed, trying to keep himself from being too emotional. "And my mom, she's kinda uptight. Actually she's very uptight. She wants me to come home after school and hang out with her. I'm all that she's got."

The both of them just stared at each other for the longest of moments before a smile formed on Cameron's face. "Thank you for explaining. It will be our little secret."

John couldn't help but smile in happiness. So far his assumption that Cameron was going to ignore him even more, possibly even move on and make other friends; she was accepting of him. His apology to lying to her, and coming out with it before it ever got out of hand. Maybe she did like him? She was so eager to forgive him after all.

Suddenly the bell rang, and every student quickly rushed to their seats, where they all eyed the door, waiting for the teacher to enter. If anything taught them, it was that obeying a teacher was key if they wanted to avoid lunch detention. John and Cameron also started at the doorway, not saying anything as they expected Mr. Ferguson to enter at any moment.

But after couple of minutes had passed, there was no appearance from Mr. Ferguson. Everyone looked around in confusion. He was usually always in class before the bell even rang, not to mention being a few minutes late. Some students began whispering to one another, with some beginning to make small theories as to where their chemistry teacher was right now.

The student's attention was immediately caught when a woman with blonde hair and a business suit, entered the classroom with a large purse at her side. "Hello class. Mr. Ferguson is ill today. My name is Ms. Smith," the woman greeted with a neutral appearance was uncanny to that of an angry middle aged woman who had a very serious attitude. Even her voice was of higher pitch. Although she looked quite young for her position, the class sat in silence.

"Ms. Smith? That is _like_ the most generic name ever." One of the female students giggled sarcastically.

Ms. Smith just glared at the teenager, with her big, light blue eyes boring at the girl, beginning to make the young girl extremely uncomfortable. Everyone looked at the substitute teacher with slight amusement, and fear. Her expression when looking at their friend was reminiscent of a serial killer deciding whether or not they should murder that person. After a short minute, Ms. Smith took a seat in the teacher's chair, and pulled out the roster from her bag. "Let's take attendance shall we? Marie Booeye?"

"Here." The sassy teenage girl answered with timidness.

Ms. Smith looked back down at her the sheet and continued. "Donald Chase?"

"Here!" A student in the back row acknowledged.

"Franklin Lane?"

"Here."

"Cynthia Nolan?"

"Here!" a student from the front left row called out.

"Wayne Parker?"

"Here!"

"Cameron Phillips?" Miss Smith then read aloud. She began grabbing her purse from the desk, and placed it right next to her. She then proceeded to slowly take out a handgun. "Cameron?" she repeated, not having heard her confirm her presence.

"Here…" Cameron muttered while slouched in her desk. She had an awkward feeling towards this woman. She couldn't be the triple eight that future John had warned them about. The triple eight was said to be a large male. Not a petite woman, whom had eyes that were pretty lifeless. But then who was this? Was she a machine? Or was she just a normal substitute who lacked any enthusiasm for their job? Some substitutes were said to be as dull as this one, even more so.

"John Reese? Do we have a John Reese present?" Ms. Smith then read, scanning the room.

Cameron looked over at John, whom in turn looked at her. He noticed her concerned look, and wondered what it meant. But when he heard the teacher call his name, he knew he had to answer, otherwise he would risk being counted tardy; thus getting in extreme trouble with his mother. "Here." John reluctantly raised his hand, signaling that he was indeed present.

Ms. Smith tilted her head, taking a long moment to analyze John's facial features, until she came up with a rough estimation of his future self. It was in fact him. Her target. "Excellent."

She stood up, and raised her gun, firing off two shots.

Immediately, everyone dove for cover, with desks overturning, and teenagers screaming in absolute fear and dismay. Cameron instantly jumped into action, standing up from her desk just as John had dove behind her, unintentionally, in attempts to avoid the gunfire. But before she could make a single move, her infiltrator settings had took immediate effect as she is met with a hail of bullets emmeding into her chest, causing her pain sensors to spike astronomically. The force caused her to stumble and fall to the ground.

On his hands and knees, John started to quickly backup as his world slowed down. He could only look at Cameron; whom he had become friends with, take a couple of bullets to the chest for him and die. He hated himself for it. Everybody seemed to die because they either loved him or just knew him. He hated it, and now it was happening all over again.

But there was no time to be beating himself up over it. When he was alive and alone, then he could grieve for his friend. When he could get to his mother, and get the hell out of this hick town. John quickly got onto his feet and started running with all of his might down the aisle, to the back of the classroom; with his destination of escape being the door. However, when he heard another thunderclap ring throughout the classroom, he suddenly stopped from doing so when a bullet had hit the door, causing wood chips to explode from it, scaring him. John turned to his right and saw his plan B, being a window across the room. Taking whatever little time he had, he ran to it, and jumped through the pane, using his whole body to break the glass.

Ms. Smith maneuvered around the desks, still firing at her target, until she lost him when he had jumped through the window. She stalked up to the window to keep pursuing her target. As she was about to exit the window, she turned her head to the right and looks at the terrified students who were huddled in the corner, fearing that they were in fact next in line to be shot. However, what came out of the sadistic substitutes mouth was far more terrifying.

"Class dismissed." She said simply, then jumped out of the window.

"Oh my god!" Marie shouted out in horror. "She killed that new girl!" Everybody turned their attention to where Cameron was, but see that she was not there anymore, or anywhere in the class for that fact. All there was left, was a blood trail that led out of the door.

"She's a zombie!" Donald exclaimed in horror.

•••

John ran. That was all that he knew. That is all that he could do. Now it was happening yet again. He was being targeted for termination by Skynet. They have done the same damn thing and sent machine back in time to kill him before he rose up to become the leader of the Resistance. But how? He thought that he and his mother stopped it? The Terminator he befriended during those few days even said that it was over. Did he lie? Or did he just not know that it would happen again, somehow? He couldn't dwell on it too much right now, though. He had to focus on surviving. Later he could continue to question everything.

As he ran down the parking lot, John found a school bus parked outside and took cover behind it, just as the terminatrix exited the window that he had smashed through. For a moment, the unknown terminator didn't have a visual on him which was convenient for John. Right now he had the element of surprise, and could possibly use that to sneak away and find his mother. Unfortunately, however, his curiosity got the best of him, as he decided to peek around the corner of the bus, only to be met with a gunshot ricocheting off of the side view mirror, barely missing him.

John continued to run as fast as he could down the side of the bus, with the terminator firing under the bus, trying to disable John at his feet. Luckily all shots were missed, and he was still mobile.

The terminator was unsuccessful though. She had missed every shot and was starting to get annoyed with the inferior firearm. She tossed it to the side, where her hand turned into a silvery mass, then taking the form of some sort of weapon. She took aim, and fired a round of some superheated projectile, that hit the bus with such great force, it caused the vehicle to land on its side.

The terminator climbed on top of the bus, and had an aerial, overhead view of the whole parking lot. She did several scans in multiple views of vision, ranging from thermal; to infrared.

While she methodically searched the parking lot, John was now crouched down, hiding behind one of the various cars in the parking lot, hoping that this terminator would not find him, and instead assume that he had escaped. Again, he was still confused that this was happening again. He thought he and his mother had stopped Judgement Day, when they blew up Cyberdyne two years ago. But they were wrong.

Trying to get away, John began to crawl on his hands and knees, while trying to avoid detection from the terminator. When he had rounded one of the vehicles, going to the next, he accidentally came face to face with the terminator who was staring at him with intent, and aiming the strange weapon at him.

 **:SCANNING…**

 **:IDENTIFICATION…**

 **:SCANNING…**

 **:ANALYZING...**

 **:IDENTIFICATION CONFIRMED: JOHN CONNOR**

 **:ANALYZING…**

 **:MISSION PRIORITIES FOUND: TERMINATE**

The terminator performed a facial recognition analysis on John's face and confirmed that it was indeed him. Now it was time to terminate him. They won.

As the terminator's mysterious weapon charged, ready to fire, she was suddenly interrupted when a large moving object came out of nowhere, and crashed into her side with such great force, that she was sent flying down three rows of cars, and slammed into a red coupe.

John was too shocked to do anything, let alone process what just happened. His mind was racing so fast, trying to figure out what had just happened in such a short amount of time.

The large vehicle revealed itself to be a pickup truck, as it backed up from ramming into the terminator, and the door flung open, revealing a slightly familiar face. "Alex?" John said with disbelief. _It was Cameron's aunt!?_

"Come with me if you want to live!" she highly suggested in a loud tone. John didn't need to be told twice. He got up onto his feet and rushed inside the vehicle, and closing the door. "Hold on!" she barked as she put the truck into gear and sped down the parking lot. All was calm, and he thought he got away. Now he could finally begin to reflect on what just occurred a few minutes ago. Even to try and find a way to explain to Alex, that her niece was dead.

Well, unfortunately he'd have to put away those thoughts, as he gaze out the side view mirror, only to see the unknown Terminator sprinting after the truck with incredible speeds that surpassed anything he had ever seen.

"She's gaining on us!" John shouted in absolute fear. This exact moment reminded him of the T-1000 that had chased him and his mother with similar incredible speeds. That memory made John shudder in fear more. Hell, even this machine was probably faster than the liquid metal.

"Hold the steering wheel!" Alex commanded.

John nodded hastily, and placed his hands on the steering wheel, and kept it steady, as Alex pulled an antique Colt 45. Revolver out from underneath the seat. She rolled down the window and pulled half of her body out, where she then took aim at the terminator. Alex fired off the first shot, which hit the terminator's shoulder, making her stumble back slightly. But it wasn't enough as she was easily able to recover and continue her pursuit.

 _This isn't working._

Alex aimed once more and fired off another shot, but instead of hitting the machine again, she missed. _Damn! Wish I had a heads up display like the other machines! Lucky bastards!_

She took aim once again, and pulled the trigger in hopes of successfully hitting the cyborg. But like last time, she missed her third shot when John had suddenly made a sharp right turn down the parking lot. "Will you keep still!" Alex turned her attention to John and shouted in frustration.

"I'm doing the best I can!" John shot back. He was trying to do his best to help, and reacting under extreme pressure wasn't helping much.

Alex turned her attention back onto the road, ready to continue her defence against the machine. But she had no visual of the terminator, as she was no longer sprinting after the truck.

 _What the hell? Did she give up?_

Alex was stopped from processing another thought when something had landed on the roof of the truck, and grabbed her by the wrist, and pulling her out of the open window. There, Alex came face to face with the female terminator who was now dangling her over the asphalt of the parking lot, about to drop her from the moving vehicle. All she could see was the asphalt speed underneath her feet, like some thriller action movie.

In an act of desperation, Alex instantly swung her right foot at the Terminator, and successfully hitting the machine in the face. The terminator barely flinched at the assault and unintentionally threw her into the back of the truck bed.

John watched everything happen through the rearview mirror and immediately knew how screwed he was. Alex, was for the moment, disabled from coming into direct contact with a machine. He was honestly surprised that she had survived and was brave enough to face such a dangerous being. He needed to get this damn machine off the truck, and get away. At least far enough away to get out of here. John made a last second decision to step on the brakes as hard as he could, which in turn, sent the terminator flying over the cab of the truck and landing on the hood, where she dug her hands into the hood, causing the steel to bend to her will.

 _Shit… I just made this way worse!_

The terminator tilted her head in confusion. Her target had just made it much easier for her to terminate him, which was very convenient. To her at least, it was. She positioned herself into a kneeling position and raises her right fist, punching through the windshield and grabbing John by the collar of his shirt.

 _This is it. I'm gonna die here. Humanity's last hope just died here today._ John closed his eyes, waiting for his life to be taken at any moment.

If the terminator was human, she would have triumphed in her victory. She was about to terminate John Connor. The leader of the Resistance and the destroyer of her species.

The machine was so focused on John Connor, that she hadn't noticed Alex who was now standing above the cabin of the truck, taking aim at her, and firing off the remaining three rounds into her face. Out of the three shots, one bullet managed to hit her in the eye, causing damage to her right optical sensor. The terminator released John from her grasp, and stumbled back, off of the hood of the truck. Alex looked in confusion as the machine appeared to be in pain?

 _How the hell is that possible?_

Alex had no time to ponder on the topic right now. She hopped back into the truck, through the driver's side window and pushed John aside. She put the truck into gear and backed up from the terminator who hadn't moved an inch.

With that, John and Alex drove off school campus and down the long stretch of road, leading back into town.

"Are you okay?" Alex asked John with concern and worry, but kept her eyes on the road. Alex noticed that John didn't answer and remained silent. "John? Please tell me that you are okay?" She repeated. John only answered in a sad nod, and looked out the window, seeing the school disappear in the distance.

Now that everything had calmed down, John was able to process what had transpired just a moment ago. Everything that had happened with Cameron… and that machine that attacked him and killed her. "Alex…I- I'm sorry…"

"Sorry for what?" Alex asked in puzzlement.

"Cameron… she… she didn't make it…" John clarified, trying to hold back the emotions. _Everybody dies because of me._ John looked up at Alex who was smiling for some reason. _Why is she smiling! Her niece is dead! What the hell is going on!?_ "Stop the truck!" John shouted.

"Great timing." Alex smirked simply, and stomped on the breaks which brought the truck to an immediate halt once more. John looked at Alex with confusion, anger, and shock at seeing her smile. Was she just crazy or something? Her niece was shot and killed, and she was just sitting here with the widest grin on her face.

Before John could utter a single word, the passenger door flung open, revealing the very person who was on his mind. A ghost he thought. "C-Cameron?!" he exclaimed in disbelief. "H- How?"

"Move over," she ordered simply, yet blankly. John reluctantly complied and scoots to the side, giving her room to enter. As she shuts the door, Alex put the truck into gear once more and continued down the road.

Everyone just sat there in silence. John had about a million questions. What should he ask first? The fact that there was another machine here to kill him, or the fact that he saw Cameron get shot and die right in front of him.

John curiously glanced at Cameron's chest and saw that there was indeed bullet holes that were still bleeding and staining her pink buttoned up shirt. He then looked up from the wounds and up to Cameron's face where her face was a blank expressionless mask.

 _Make that one million and one questions._

His heart sank again, and his eyes drooped to his lap. The girl that he had grown to like, was a machine. A terminator. It was all a trick and he felt stupid for falling for it. "You're a machine." It wasn't a question.

"Yes. I was sent back here to protect you." Cameron explained, not taking her gaze off the window. _My cover is now blown._

"What about you?" John then looked over at Alex. What she did back at the school definitely raised some suspicion. Never would a normal person do that. Go up against a machine. "Are you a machine, too?" he then asked.

"Uhh... no... Well, not really." Alex tried answering. Taking into consideration on what she was, it would take a lot to explain to him what she was.

"Not really? It's either a yes or no question!" John snapped.

"I'll explain everything later, John. But right now, we need to get to your mother." Alex told with no room for arguments. John nodded and all three continued their journey silently.

 ** _Red Valley New Mexico, September 7, 1999 (Sally's Diner)_**

 ** _9:02 am:_**

Sarah Connor did the only thing she knew how to do. The only sense of normalcy that she ever had in her life. Being a waitress in a diner. That was the only skill she really had besides destroying computer facilities, and cyborgs. Never did she really ever take a new job skill. This was the only thing she ever did before her life got turned upside down, and was thrusted into the world of Skynet and the machines. But with all that behind her, she could start getting used it again.

This morning was a crazy morning for Sarah. She had the big breakfast rush come in and was busy taking orders and delivering food. This consisted so much of her time that she barely registered the television that was playing right behind her.

When Sarah heard the only words she needed to hear: **_"Shooting was reported just moments ago in Crest View High School,"_** she quickly put down the plates of food and rushed out of the diner in complete distraught.

Sarah grabbed her car keys from her apron and stalked to her car, where she was about to open it. However, she stopped when a truck pulled up behind her, and three people climbed out.

"Mom!" John called out to his mother. Sarah turned around in complete relief that her son was alive.

Sarah turned around instantly at the sound of her son's voice, and ran up to him, engulfing him in a tight hug. "Thank God! I heard what happened! Are you okay!?" Sarah inquired in her usual protecting mother way.

"I'm fine, mom, really. I had help." John indicated at Cameron and Alex who were standing behind him.

Sarah studied each of them. First she looked at Alex. She was mostly normal looking and could tell that she was human. Sarah then studied Cameron. It didn't take much to figure out what _she_ was, considering that _she_ had a blank lifeless expression. That and multiple bullet holes in her chest definitely gave it away.

"Stand back!" Sarah ordered John, and stood right in front of him. This was the time that She wished that she hadn't left her gun in the car.

"Mom! If she wanted to kill me, she would have done so by now!" John pleaded and maneuvered around his mother. "Why are you acting like this again? You even got used to Uncle Bob!"

"Uncle Bob?" Both Cameron and Alex inquired in unison.

"A terminator that was sent back to protect me two years ago." John side commented. Alex and Cameron nodded in understanding and dropped the subject.

"You're supposed to run, John!" Sarah bursted out randomly in anger.

"What did you think I did!? I wouldn't have even made it, if it weren't for Cameron, and Alexandra here!" John argued back. He absolutely hated his mother's outbursts.

"You can call me Alex." She side commented once again just to correct John. She never liked the name Alexandra.

"We were doing well! Nobody knew who we were until you show up!" Sarah snarled, getting into Alex's face.

"Back off Sarah! Just because you're his mother, doesn't mean that I won't put you in your place!" Alex shot back. _I'm sure as hell am not about to told off by a dead woman!_

In anger, Sarah slapped Alex, which in turn, infuriated the Hybrid even more. She grabbed Sarah's shirt collar and hoisted her up into the air with ease. John and even Cameron stared in shock, not wanting to intercede.

"Look! I'm not gonna kill you, but if I must, I will break both of your arms!" Alex explained in a simple yet very menacing tone.

"You're a… a machine!?" Sarah shouted in absolute fear and confusion. She kicked her legs back and forth, all while struggling to escape against Alex's tight grasp.

"Correct! And also not correct!" Alex shook her head more in confusion. It was hard to explain still, and she wasn't making it any easier. "I'd be happy to explain it to you if you'd stop trying to hurt me!"

Sarah eventually gave up, and just dangled there. It was pointless and very shameful that she was showed up by Alex in this fashion. "Fine… please let me down." Alex agreed and lightly set Sarah Connor down. "Why are you two here?" She then asked.

"John sent us back to stop a T-triple eight from killing his younger self." Cameron stated simply. _How much more simple could it get anyway?_

"Always has to send machines. Just why?" Sarah muttered to herself.

That scared Alex. _Was Cameron right? Was I very similar to Sarah Connor?_ Alex looked at Sarah who was pacing back and forth in panic and confusion. She was even mumbling something to herself, which none of them could make out.

 _I sure hope to God I'm not._

"We need to leave town." Cameron spoke up in seriousness.

"Where?" John and Sarah said in unison, like how Cameron and Alex did.

"We'll explain in the car." Alex said as she picked up Sarah's car keys. The keys that Sarah had dropped when she held her in the air.

Alex and Cameron got in the SUV, with Alex getting in the driver's seat, and Cameron getting in the back left passenger seat. John and Sarah reluctantly got in the car as well, and all four drove off, immediately leaving the small town. Alex and Cameron had a lot of explaining to do.

 ** _Red Valley New Mexico, September 7, 1999 (Crest View High School)_**

 ** _2:36 pm:_**

A few hours had went by, and the entire Crest View Valley high school was littered with cops and other emergency personal. A gray sedan pulled up into the parking lot of high school, and parked a good distance away from the scene. When the man stepped out of the vehicle, one of the nearby police officers rushed over to him, and shook his hand.

"Agent Ellison?" The local sheriff inquired in uncertainty.

"Yes. Nice to meet you officer..." Ellison greeted with a firm handshake.

"Carlson," the officer answered. "Welcome to New Mexico, The land of Enchantment."

Ellison just smirked. _Ironic_. "So what happened here?" he asked, indicating at the smouldering school bus that still had smoking spewing out of it. He could see that a few firefighters were still in the process of putting it out.

"Around 8:27, gunshots were reported inside a classroom. The students here said that some crazy lady tried to kill one of the new students and succeeded at killing another student." Officer Carlson explained. He began to lead the agent through the scene, where he began to answer any questions that Ellison may have.

"I didn't hear of any casualties though?" Ellison pointed out with confusion.

"That's the thing. Every student who witnessed the shooting said that the female student was gunned down but disappeared soon after." Officer Carlson shrugged, just as confused as Ellison was.

"Disappeared? This isn't the resurrection of Jesus Christ, officer." Ellison said in perplexity. _How does a dead girl just disappear?_

"We don't know. We have a name of the girl though. Cameron Phillips. Ring any bells or something?" Ellison just shook his head truthfully. "Guess we're gonna have to further look into this. She's practically been a ghost since yesterday."

Ellison continued to look around the whole crime scene. He saw every police officer studying each strange occurrence in different locations. There was a smashed red coupe, and not too far away from that, there was some fairly fresh tire marks. But what he was curious about was the way the bus was overturned and flipped onto its side. "Well, how do you explain the bus then?"

"We think that it may have been a bombing." Officer Carlson replied. Both him and Agent Ellison made their way over to the bus to examine it. One there, it wasn't much to see. At least from his view. "If this looks bad, you should see what's on the side of it."

Ellison watched as officer Carlson grabbed a nearby ladder and positioned it right next to the roof of the bus and started to climb it.

Ellison followed, climbed the ladder a few seconds after Carlson, until he reached the top of the bus. Or side for that matter. What Ellison saw made him raise and eyebrow in astonishment and confusion. "I don't what kind of bombs you've seen, but this ain't one." Ellison pointed out at the huge black smoking crater that was dead center in the bus.

"We aren't exactly sure what it was. The forensics said that whatever hit this bus, was hot enough to melt the steel and glass like it was nothing. Some believe that it was probably thermite, but this seems to be way hotter than even that." Carlson explained in a simple manner. He was as confused at what had transpired here as well.

"Do you have any security tapes? Any footage of what happened here?" Ellison asked, hoping that this wasn't a dead end.

"We do. But we already checked. There was nothing. The camera angles did not catch the bus being blown to hell, nor the 'supposed student who was killed.'" Carlson quoted student with his fingers.

"Another dead end… guess this case is gonna be thrown under the bus." Ellison sighed, while Carlson chuckled to the agents ironic remark.

As Ellison turned to leave, the officer stopped him once more, and spoke. "But. There is something we did manage to catch on the security cameras."

Agent Ellison turned to the officer. "What is it?"

"I'll show you."

•••

 ** _Author's Note: This was a short, yet action packed chapter! When I wrote this, I wanted to keep a lot of the similar elements that were shown in the pilot episode, but add my own twists to show that just one or two different things could alter the timeline so easily._**

 ** _(UPDATE!) This, along with chapter 1, have been reworked to fix some grammatical errors, as well as spelling errors; also to add a bit more interest to the reader. The chapter is slightly longer than the original draft, and has a little more content added to answer some questions that were of main concern when I first started this story back in October."_**

 ** _Next chapter, John, Alex, Sarah and Cameron will have to figure out what the mysterious terminatrix really is and what its intentions are._**

 ** _Agent James Ellison will also be investigating what is even happening, but using more of the legal system in turns of finding out the truth._**

 ** _Just to clear some things up yet again, we will see the reason why the terminator displayed pain when Alex shot her in the right optical sensor, so just give me a chance to give me that chance on an explanation and we'll be good._**

 ** _I really hope you guys think that Alex is an interesting character! I try so hard to give her some personality, because most original characters in stories are never as interesting as the main characters and are just very bland and very boring. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed and give me feedback on what you think!_**

 ** _Reviews are appreciated!_**


	3. Chapter 3

**Terminator: No Fate But What We Make**

 **Chapter 3**

 ** _Crystal Peak, June 3, 2027: Resistance Base_**

 ** _7:56 am:_**

 _Knock, Knock, Knock_

 _Three months… It had been three months. Three months since he had lost her. Since he had lost his daughter out in the wastelands. Allison Young went on a scouting mission four months back and was supposed to have returned by now. But she didn't. The only thing that confirmed that she still may be alive, was the transmission she had sent out. That was the hard part for John Connor. It was hard for him to not know if the one person he truly cares about it alive or dead. Alive he hoped._

 _KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!_

"John!? Are you there?" A muffled female voice could be heard from the other side of the door. "It's _Alex_ , please open up." the muffled voice of Alex then said.

John reluctantly got up off of his cot in his empty quarters, and slowly strolled to the door, with a handgun in his right hand just in case, where he opened it, and revealed Alex. "What is it?" John asked in a groggy voice as he tucked the handgun in the belt of his pants.

"Morning to you to" Alex said in a mocking tone. "Anyway, _Lieutenant Perry_ wanted to see you."

"What does he need?" John simply asked.

"I'm not exactly sure, but he said it was important." Alex informed.

"Ok, do you want to come in?" John asked with what appeared to be hope in his voice.

Alex just lifted her right eyebrow in confusion but nodded in acceptance. She then pushed past John and entered his quarters, where John closed the door behind him.

John walks across the room and takes a seat on his cot, where he grabs his combat boots and starts to put them on. "So… how have _you_ been? We don't really talk much anymore." John spoke up, trying to make conversation.

"Nothing much, just busy being Perry's errand boy." Alex said with a smile.

"And how's that working out for you?" John asked with a chuckle.

"He can be an asshole sometimes, but other than that it's a simple job." Alex explained simply. "How about you?"

"What do you think? I still can't find _her_." John sighed, trying not to show too much emotion.

Alex reached out and placed her hands in John's. "We'll find her John. She is with Martin. He will protect her until his last breath."

"I really hope so… I can't imagine what she and him might be going through right now." John said, not trying to imagine them almost starving in some random tunnel. Or worse… captured and killed by Skynet. They would have been put into Century work camp and forced to work until they died of exhaustion or hunger.

"Hey. I know what will cheer you up" Alex said with a bright mischievous smile. John just watched as Alex ruffled through her bag and pulled out an old polaroid looking photo and handed it to him. _The photo was of John, Kyle Reese, Allison, Alex, Martin, and Veronica awkwardly posing and smiling for the photo with the Resistance Ariel Hunter Killer; KARA in the background. Veronica looked like she had no idea what she was doing in the photo and just stood there with a stiff and blank expression._

John couldn't help but smile and chuckle at the old photo. "I remember this… it was after Allison's fifteenth birthday. I remember when Kyle found that old shitty camera and insisted that we all take a photo to remember that day."

"Turns out it was one hell of a good idea." Alex giggled when she reminisced about that day.

"Allie was so devastated when Veronica had been destroyed… Even for a cyborg, Veronica had that human feel to her. Now we could use her now more than ever." John muttered.

"I want you to keep it. The photo I mean. It was given to her by Kyle, and she gave it to me. Now I think you should have it John." Alex insisted.

"Thanks Alex. This means a lot to me. Hell it even gives me hope." John said gratefully. And placed it in the pocket of his coat. John stood up, with Alex following a second later. Both share a short yet loving embrace before letting go a second later. "Let's go see what Perry wants." John said with a smile.

Alex returned the smile. "Right this way general." She then said sarcastically. With that, both walk out of the quarters and down the corridor to the command center.

 ** _Nevada, September 7, 1999: (Unknown Location)_**

 ** _10:14 pm_**

 _What is it about abandoned warehouses that people can easily find and hide out in? When you're not looking, they can be hard to spot. But if you do try and be observant of your surroundings, you'll find what you're looking for._

 _Alex, Cameron, and Sarah sat around a campfire in the ruins of an old warehouse somewhere in Nevada. By the looks of the warehouse, it was completely neglected and seemed to be falling apart. It was nighttime, and John was lying in the SUV, in deep slumber. Today was a very stressful day for the young leader. He had been nearly killed and needed to rest._

Everybody sat around the campfire in silence. Sarah and Alex just stared into the flames, deep in thought. Cameron on the other hand, was topless, and pulling bullets from her torso. Since Cameron was a machine, _she did not have a problem with nudity and didn't really understand why humans are very embarrassed of their bodies._

"You might want to put those back in the holster." Sarah said looking up for the first time and realizing that Cameron didn't even have her shirt on.

Cameron just looked at Sarah confused. Only a second later, did she finally received what she had meant. "Oh." She said looking both left and right for her brassiere, and proceeded to put it back on. Since they had abandoned their truck back in New Mexico, she was forced to put her bullet ridden shirt back on.

"So what was the reason that John, _future John_ had sent you back?" Sarah asked Alex.

Alex looked up from the fire, realizing that she had totally forgot to explain their mission. "John had _three missions_ for us to complete."

"The first mission was to find and protect John. The second was to help you two stop Skynet. The third is classified." Cameron finished.

" _Classified_?" Sarah scoffed. "Why is it classified?" Sarah asked.

"It's important that we don't tell you." Alex said with seriousness. "It could have consequences if we were to say anything about it."

"If it hurts John, _I'll kill_ you both myself." Sarah said with venom in her voice. She didn't trust these two. Even if Alex seemed alright, she was still a machine.

"What was the whole point of coming back to save John if we were gonna get him killed?" Alex said, furrowing her eyebrow in confusion. _Sometimes Sarah didn't really think did she?_

Sarah just remained silent. Alex had a point. It was pointless to even save him if they were just going to kill him later on. "So who builds Skynet? _Miles Dyson_?"

"Someone else builds it." Cameron stated simply.

"Then who builds it?" Sarah asked.

"We don't know." Alex said.

"You're telling me that you don't know who builds the computer system that blows up the world?" Sarah said with more confusion. _If they are here to stop Skynet, then why do they not know who builds it?_

"We do have a couple of theories, but other than that, we don't know for sure." Alex explained.

"Theories are what put me into a mental hospital. We need leads. We need a source. " Sarah started going into detail. _If they were going to stop Skynet, they needed a place to start._

"Alex?" Cameron said, turning her attention to her companion and ignoring Sarah. "What we had encountered earlier. That wasn't a T-triple eight."

"I know. It was something else." Alex muttered, going into deep thoughts of what had happened at the school parking lot. "It was a _T-950_."

" _T-950_?" Sarah asked perplexed. She had heard of the _T-800_ 's, but not any other superior models.

"Cameron here is a _T-900_ , class _TOK-715_. The only class series that Skynet had ever built." Alex went into a deep explanation to what Cameron was. "The _950_ is more advanced, more powerful than any other terminators ever built, besides the _T-1000_."

"The _T-950's_ haven't been designed in our timeline though Alex. I'm the most advanced model by far." Cameron stated. _She knew that Skynet hadn't designed any future models yet._

"Thanks for pointing that out captain obvious." Alex said sarcastically, also rolling her eyes. "I have met one before. She was from a far distant future than where we came from. John had the _T-950_ in his inner circle before you came along."

"What happened to the machine?" Sarah asked, somewhat interested in the conversation.

"She reverted. Her core programing came back mysteriously." Alex explained. "She was a fairly innocent machine. She never killed a living being. She wouldn't even hurt a _fly_."

"Somehow I doubt that." Sarah said.

"Well it's true. She was taken off the assembly line, and programed by the Resistance to have morals on human life." Alex persisted. The machine was a considered friend to Alex.

What was her name?" Cameron asked with curiosity.

" _Veronica_." Alex said.

"So this _Veronica_ is here to kill John?" Sarah asked, trying to grasp the whole concept on there being entirely new machines around.

"She was destroyed years ago in the future, so I don't think it's possible that she would somehow just be back." Alex tried to explain.

"Most likely the same model. Like how the _T-800 models_ only used the _101_ skin covering." Cameron finished.

"Exactly. But it doesn't make sense." Alex muttered to herself.

"What doesn't make sense?" Sarah asked, hearing Alex's whispering.

Why can't I ever just say anything mentally? "When I shot _it_ , She seemed to have been injured."

" _Injured_?" Sarah asked, not even hearing this before. "Machines can't feel!?"

"Well I'm not entirely sure. I destroyed her right optic, and it looked like she was displaying _pain_." Alex said. She was as confused as Sarah.

Sarah got up off of the tire that she was sitting on. "I'm gonna get some rest. This is too much to process." Sarah said and jumped into the open hatch of the SUV, where a couple of blankets were laid out in.

 ** _Red Valley New Mexico, September 7, 1999 (Unknown Location)_**

 ** _2:00 am_**

 _The terminatrix sat in front of a mirror, in a dark abandoned house, in the middle of the New Mexican desert. She was in the process of removing the damaged tissue so that she could remove the destroyed optic sensor. The terminatrix was clearly showing pain as she used a simple pocket knife to strip the flesh off._

 _After a long moment, the damaged flesh was fully removed and the optic fully exposed. She looked closely in the mirror with her only good eye and assess that the damage was too great and the optic was beyond repair. She would need a replacement. But you can't just find terminator eyes just anywhere. So what do you do?_

 _The terminatrix got up off of the chair and walked into the kitchen where she had a computer set up. She started to do research on any leads to where she could either acquire and new optic, or build one, using the primitive technology that was in this time._

 _One thing was for sure. She couldn't keep pursuing her target in her current condition. The terminatrix needed to self repair before she could continue her hunt. She needed to be one hundred percent. If she even attempted to continue to find John Connor, the unknown cyborg that had protected him and caused her current condition, would be a problem. The unknown cyborg would definitely have an advantage._

•••

 _Meanwhile, Agent James Ellison was currently sitting at a desk in the local police station in Red Valley. He had gotten ahold of the security tapes that monitored the school and was filing through them rather quickly. They were the usual; Kids walking up and down the halls, trying to get to class, some ditching class, and even some of the students doing drugs and alcohol on campus._

It made James smirk at seeing all these kids getting into trouble. Back then, he would have gotten his ass beat if he was ever caught doing that stuff. However though, it was very tiring for James. Fatigue was starting to get the better of him at the late hour.

James rubbed his eyes irritably and looked down at his watch. His eyes widened when he saw that it was almost two thirty in the morning. He wanted to call it a night, but he was so determined to find out the truth. Everything confused the agent. On one hand, James still thought Sarah Connor was a lunatic. But on the other hand, there were many crazy occurrences that were as similar to this recent event.

James looked down at the pile of VHS tapes and saw that there was one more. It read ' _Southwest entrance_ ' On the tape. This had to be the one, he thought. James was so caught up with the useless footage, that he had viewed to see if there was any other strange unusual occurrences.

James ejected the tape he previously watched and placed the new one in. Since it was a brand new tape, it had no need to be rewinded and was ready to watch. He pressed the play button on the television and began to watch the events unfold on the screen.

It was mostly quiet however. There was nothing in view of the camera, besides some birds surrounding the trash cans on the sidewalk. Another dead end, he thought.

James was about to eject the tape whensuddenly, something caught his eye. He witnessed a blue and white striped pick up truck, stop in perfect view of the camera. There was two unknown females that could be seen in the video; one was the lying in the truck bed, and the other in the cab of the vehicle. And an unknown person in the driver's seat.

James Ellison sat on the edge of his seat as he watched one of the females tumble off cab and unto the hood of the truck and easily thrusted her fist into the windshield. Then, the other female, quickly got up from the back of the truck bed jumped on top of the cab with a weapon in her hand.

Ellison flinched when he saw her fire off three shots at the other females face, but didn't perceive any pain until the final shot and stumbled off the hood of the truck and onto the ground.

This confused James so much. _His first question was, how the hell does a small looking female just smash her fist through a windshield like it was tinfoil?_ _The second and final question he had was, why did she take three bullets to the face and didn't react to the first two, but the third? Not one man could take a single bullet to the face and live, let alone three!?_ James Ellison had so many questions, but no answers.

 ** _Nevada, September 7, 1999 (Unknown Location)_**

 ** _7:00 am_**

 _Sarah Connor woke up from her slumber, to see both her son and one of the cyborgs staring at her. They both had smirks on their faces and she wondered why? Sarah was about to sit up, when she noticed that there was a very heavy arm on top of her, stopping her from continuing._

She looked down at the arm, and slowly followed its length and saw a sleeping Alex that was lying on her stomach, snoring loudly. Sarah rolled her eyes and used all her strength to shove Alex's arm off her. _She didn't know what was more embarrassing. The fact that she couldn't move a simple arm off of her, or the fact that a cyborg was cuddling with her._

 _Why is her arm so heavy anyway?_

Sarah action, abruptly woke up Alex who jolted up from her sleep. "Did the machines come!?" She said, frantically looking back and forth inside of the warehouse.

" _Morning you two_." John said sarcastically, with a laugh and walked back to the the passenger seat of the SUV and sat down on the driver's seat.

Cameron walked the opposite direction, to patrol the perimeter for any potential threats.

Sarah was the first to get up out of the hatch back and stretched her sore muscles. Alex did so a second later but only yawned instead of trying to stretch. Perks of having artificial muscles.

"We have to get one thing straight! No _spooning_ me or John, got it?" Sarah said in an irritated tone. Alex wasn't taken aback by this though.

 _Apparently this wasn't the first time this has happened._

 _Alex walked over to John, deciding to explain to him what they had discussed while he had slept. Meanwhile, Cameron walked over to Sarah._

Sarah still didn't trust both of them. She was surprised that she even managed to sleep the way she did. "So, where are we headed anyway?" She asks.

 _"I'll show you."_

 ** _Los Angeles California, September 8, 1999 (Security Trust of Los Angeles Bank)_**

 ** _12:09 pm_**

 _Los Angeles California. It was a place that hasn't been seen by Sarah and John since they had destroyed Cyberdyne two years ago. Since the T-800 known as Uncle Bob had sacrificed himself to save the future. Too bad he couldn't have known that it was practically inevitable. Sarah even started to take a liking to the cyborg, considering he looked like the one that tried to kill her back in 1983. He was the first real father figure that John had._

John, Alex, Sarah, and Cameron barely pulled up to the bank and parked across the street.

"Why are we at a bank?" John asked confused. He was successfully ignored by both of Alex and Cameron, as they exited the vehicle started walking across the street. John turned to his mother who was also completely surprised, and gave her that _'What do we do'_ look which Sarah just shrugged.

They soon also exit the vehicle and jog to catch up to Alex and Cameron. "Do you have an _account_ here?" Sarah asked.

"Yes." Alex and Cameron said in unison.

"When did you open that?" John then asked.

"1963." Cameron spoke.

As they entered the building, they hadn't noticed the engraved sign at the entrance that had _'Built in 1963'_ on it.

•••

 _The inside of the bank had quite a bit of people. There were the clerks helping the customers deposit or withdraw cash from their accounts, and there was an old security guard carelessly guarding the place._

 _To bad for him._

Cameron walked in first and before the guard could even react, She snatches his gun out of his holster and head butts him, knocking him unconscious. "Everyone on the floor! Please." Cameron said coolly as she waved it around, making everybody in the bank drop to the ground in fright.

Cameron kept the weapon drawn as she neared the counter, where the clerks were located.

"Keys to the safety deposit boxes." Cameron asked a female clerk. The woman just stood there in shock, not knowing what to do exactly. She found her answer when she heard Cameron pull the hammer of the pistol back, and led them down the hallway in the back where a large metal vault was located. "Get inside" She commanded Alex, John and Sarah. Cameron turned her attention back to the frightened clerk and held her hand out. "Keys."

The clerk reluctantly complied and placed the keys in her hand. Cameron joined her friends in the vault and turned to the clerk one more time. "Lock us in, I'll know if you don't."

 _The clerk was very confused to why they wanted to lock themselves in but saw she had no say in the matter, and did what she was told._

Once the vault was closed, John and Sarah were frantically looking around the room, trying to see why they were even in here. "Do you have a safety deposit box here?" Sarah asked Cameron.

"I do." Cameron simply said and strolled to the other side of the room. As Cameron approached the wall of deposit boxes, with Alex staying guard at the vault door, and Sarah and John in tow, she looks up and down each row until she finds the right number that she had memorized. She then proceeded to thrust her fist at the steel safe, breaking it open. And pulled out several pairs of keys.

 _Instead of Cameron giving each pair of keys to the others she tosses them to the side, all but one pair remaining and walked to the other side of the room, where she opens another box. Everybody gathered around her to observe what exactly she was doing, and watched her pull out a small clear vial that was the size of a thumb._

"What is that?" John asked.

"Hope." Cameron said, looking at the vial.

"Is it from the future?" John asked, completely mesmerized at the tiny object.

"You can't take anything with you through time. Not _clothes_. Not _weapons_." Cameron explained simply and walked back to the other side of the room. At this point, John, and Sarah were playing cat and mouse with Cameron, while Alex stayed right next to the vault door.

 _Cameron placed the vial on the table and used the set of keys to open another deposit box that was above the previous one she had broken through._

John and Sarah just watched as she pulled out, what appeared to be a small computer console and started typing onto it.

"I hear _cops_ outside!" Alex called out from across the room. "We need to hurry!"

"Hurry with what?" Sarah asked, but was successfully ignored by Cameron. "Hurry with what!? She repeated loudly, getting Cameron's attention.

"We are time jumping." Cameron replied.

"Time jumping!? Why? Why do we need to time jump!?" Sarah asked disillusioned by her answer. They were going through time? Why do we need to!?

"John sent us here to fight Skynet. He sent us here to stop Skynet. This is the only way." Cameron stated, and turned her attention back onto the small computer.

"And what is that _vial_ for?" Sarah asked.

"Too cause the isotope to start a chain reaction that will level the structure and ensure that no one gets ahold of the time displacement equipment." Cameron explained in a monotone voice.

Cameron looked into the _TDE_ and a preformed a retina scan, which gave her access to type in the date _'2007'_ Which then appeared on the screen.

"It's ready. We need to leave now before the police force enters and dies in the explosion." Cameron ordered.

Alex who heard Cameron walked back over to the group and stood in the middle as the room went dark.

"We can't just blow this place up!" Sarah persisted to argue.

"Do you have a better idea Sarah? Because if we don't do this, they will get their hands on this technology. We have no choice." Alex snapped at the older Connor. _Again, did she think thoroughly about situations?_

Suddenly, a transparent bubble appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the room, getting bigger by the second. "How are we all supposed to fit in there?" John asked looking at the bubble forming and realizing that it wouldn't fit four people inside.

"Better squeeze in then." Alex smirked. " _Hurry_!" She commanded the other three. John, Sarah and Cameron walked to the middle of the room and stood right where Alex was and huddled together.

"This is very _awkward_!" John shouted between the loud electrical sparks shooting across the room.

"Trust me, it gets way worse!" Alex also shouted. "Cameron drop the isotope!"

Cameron nodded and released the isotope solution from her hand, and falling underneath them while it rolled away from them, turning from clear to yellow, and then slowly to an orange color.

The sparks got more and more violent, as the bubble turned from transparent, to a bright ball of white light. The bubble then disappeared with a shock wave of energy, that turned the isotope vial into a red color causing it to overheat and blow up, taking the whole bank with it.

 ** _Los Angeles California, September 8, 1999 (Federal Bureau Of Investigation Agency)_**

 ** _12:28 pm_**

 _James Ellison had just recently arrived back to the FBI Agency in Los Angeles and was casually walking down the hall with a box that had the name_ 'Sarah Connor' _labeled on it._

"Hey James!" A man called out, peeking his head from another room. "You need to check this out!"

James looked down at his watch and decided that a couple of minutes couldn't hurt, and quickly walked into the room where three other agents were crowded around a television. "What is it?" He asked.

"A couple of minutes ago, we received security footage from the _'Bank of LA'_ and this showed up." one agent said, pointing at the picture of a young woman pointing a gun at a bank clerk, while three more people stood right behind her. "You know them?"

James's eyes widened in surprise. It was Sarah and John Connor! And the other woman next to them. That was the one who shot that thing back in Red Valley.

"Let's go get them!" James said, exiting the room until one of the agent's calls out his name again.

"James! That wouldn't be a good idea." The one agent said.

"Why?" Ellison asked with confusion. "They are trapped in there. We can get them before anything happens."

"That's the thing. The _bank_ is gone." The agent said with sorrow.

"It's gone?" Ellison asked, still confused to what is going on.

 _James walked back it the room, where he now saw the local news channel on, that displayed the remains of a giant smouldering building that was still being put out by firefighters._

 _At that moment, James knew that Sarah Connor had finally lost it. Instead of a computer company, it was a bank. She had succeeded in taking her son with her too. Ellison looked back down at the box he was holding and firmly grasped it for a long moment. It was now useless to keep investigating the Connor case. It would be given to someone else for them to look into why they had blown up a bank._

•••

 ** _Author's Note: Well, that wraps up the whole 1990's thing. Now our heroes are going into the future to stop Skynet from ever existing. Will they succeed? Only time will tell. Because there is no fate but what we make. :)_**

 ** _Reviews are appreciated!_**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Alex's face model is based off of Alexandra Daddario._**

 ** _The T-950 that is hunting John; her face model is based off of Amanda Seyfried. Her template model is a T-Series 950 model 546, like how the T-800's had the 101 skin covering (Arnold Schwarzenegger)_**

 **Terminator: No Fate But What We Make**

 **Chapter 4**

 ** _Los Angeles California, September 11, 2007_**

 ** _7:30 am_**

 _Three days! Three days in the future and we don't have have id's yet? I hate being cooped up in this house, and neither Sarah and Cameron will let me leave!_

Alex and John were currently sitting in the living room of their new safe house. They had arrived in the future three days ago and we're still in the process of settling in, and were now setting up a house alarm.

"So Alex, what was I like in the future?" John asked, trying to break the silence.

"You were a doofus that was way in over your head sometimes." Alex simply replied, not taking her eyes off of the wire she was cutting into. "But you were a good leader."

"Well if we do stop this, I won't have to worry about being a leader." John muttered to himself.

"And maybe if you'd stop talking, we would get this done quicker." Alex said mockingly, unable to hold back a smile.

"Ha ha." John sarcastically laughed but went back to work on the security system. "When do you think we'll get Id's?" he then spoke up a second later.

"I don't know, but hopefully soon." Alex replied. She hated being stuck in the house as much as John. Sarah and Cameron wouldn't let either of them leave which infuriated Alex, but left it for now, deciding that fighting was pointless.

"Morning you two. You're up early." Sarah greeted, walking into the living room.

"Morning mom, me and Alex were just trying to set up a security alarm." John explained.

"And _how's_ that working out for you two?" Sarah asked.

"Well, you bought me the wrong needle nose pliers." John sighed, sitting back in his chair.

"You said the red handle." Sarah replied, with John holding up a pair of needle nose pliers that have a blue handle. "Oh. Sorry, I guess I'm still disoriented from-"

"I'm calling it _time lag_. It's like jet lag but for time travel." John brought up. It seemed like that's was an appropriate name.

" _Time lag_." Sarah mused. "Seems about right."

"So when are we getting our id's?" Alex spoke up. "I would love to go outside!"

"Can't both of you just be patient?" Sarah asked John and Alex which they both respond with shaking their heads.

"It's been three days Sarah, and both me and John have been stuck in this house doing nothing!" Alex said annoyingly. _I hate when I'm being treated like a kid!_

All of a sudden, Cameron walks into the living room. "New id's today? It's been three days." She said in her usual stoic expression.

Sarah just sighed. Why must everyone be against me?

"Can't you track down _Enrique_?" John pointed out.

"Fine, I'll track down _Enrique_." Sarah reluctantly agreed. "Old friend. Ten years ago, he was the best fake-paper guy around."

" _John_ sent back better ones." Cameron stated and walked away, into the next room.

John and Sarah just looked at eachother confused, then looked back at Alex who was patiently waiting for them to stop exchanging awkward glances. "Why didn't _you_ say anything about this!?" Sarah bursted out.

"Don't look at me!" Alex said defensively. "I'm just as surprised as you are!"

"How do you not know?" John asked.

"Well for starters, I wasn't your _robot bodyguard_ , so I have no knowledge of _future John_ sending back other Resistance fighters." Alex explained in a calm manner.

"So Cameron knows where these _Resistance fighters_ are at?" Sarah asked Alex, which she just replied with a shrug. "Thanks tin head." She then added before walking into the next room.

"D-did she just?" Alex said in disbelief that Sarah Connor had just insulted her. "did your mother just called me a name!"

John chuckles and stands up from his chair. "I should have warned you. She does that sometimes." John said reassuringly. "Want some water?"

"No thanks, I'm good." Alex declined, still a bit angry that the eldest Connor had gotten snippy with her. John nodded and walked into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water.

Sarah then walks into the kitchen with Cameron closely following behind her. "We're heading out." Sarah said, putting on her coat.

"Awesome!" Alex squealed, jumping out of her chair in the living room and rushing into the living room. "I've been waiting for this!" Alex said in an excited tone.

"No you are staying here and watching John." Sarah said sternly. Alex stopped hopping up and down and looked at the ground sadly in defeat.

"How come Cameron can't stay while I go!?" Alex argued. _The cyborg is practically a tard when it comes to social gatherings._ She added that last bit mentally.

"She's coming with me because she knows the location." Sarah stated truthfully, with no rooms for discussions. With that, Sarah and Cameron walk out the door and into the Los Angeles heat.

"Well what do you want to do?" John asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Alex just shrugged her shoulders in complete boredom. _It was gonna be awkward to get to know John again. Maybe this time I don't have to freak him out and have him pull bullets out of my back. Ah who am I kidding! He's definitely gonna be digging bullets out both me and Cameron._

•••

"Three days!?" Sarah snapped at the young cyborg who was sitting next to her. "Three days and now three days you say that other people are here!?" Sarah and Cameron were currently in the process of hotwiring a car in a random parking garage four blocks away from the safehouse.

"Resistance Fighters." Cameron corrected, and continued her focus back onto the ignition. Sarah saw a car pass by behind them and immediately ducked into cover, to avoid arousing suspicion.

Before Sarah could open her mouth to speak, her prepaid cell phone rang. Sarah pulled the phone out of her pocket and rolled her eyes at who was calling. She opened the phone and began to speak into it. "What do _you_ want?"

 _"Hello to you to too Sarah!"_ Alex mockingly said over the line. _"Anyway, me and John can't find the turkey."_

Sarah rolled her eyes in an irritated way. "That was why you called me?"

 _"Well you forgot to make breakfast and we are starving."_ Alex simply replied.

Cameron tilted her head to the side from hearing the awkward conversation. _Definitely has to be Alex calling, wondering where the food was._

"It's in there, just look." Sarah tried to keep a calm tone.

 _"No it isn't!"_ John said in the background. _He must be the one digging through the fridge._

"Give the phone to John." Sarah asked Alex.

She did what she was told and handed the phone to John, which he began to speak in. _"Yeah mom?"_

"The turkey's in there, just move the food around and it will reveal itself to you." Sarah encouraged her son. _Some leader he's gonna be if he can't find a simple packet of turkey._

The line was silent for a brief moment before John spoke in a surprised tone. _"Oh! Found it, thanks mom."_ John said in appreciation and hung up.

"John couldn't find the turkey again?" Cameron asked, already knowing the answer.

Sarah chuckled. "They both couldn't find the turkey." Sarah replied. The car finally started, with Cameron closing the door and pulling out of the parking space. With that, the leave the parking garage to their first destination. The Resistance hideout.

•••

For what seemed like hours, Both Sarah and Cameron returned home, with both of them being bruised up. Cameron had small cuts all over her face and a massive gash in her back. Both of them had filled John and Alex about what had transpired at the Resistance safehouse. _They were dead, all of them. Cameron had come across a T-888 that was playing dead and waiting for someone else to spring it's trap._

"So let me get this straight. A triple eight killed the Resistance fighters, it played dead for some reason, you got attacked and thrown out of the window, and you got hit by a car!?" Alex went over what they had explained to her and John.

Sarah just nods, putting an ice pack on her left shoulder. "And I jumped off a moving motorcycle." Sarah finished.

"One hell of a morning." John smirked, not taking his eyes off of Cameron's back. He was currently placing a bandage on her right side of her back to quicken the healing process.

"So what I'm guessing is that _these things_ are here, all over I guess." Sarah spoke up. "And all of them are programmed with _specific missions_?"

"The one at the safe house was sent there for those fighters." Cameron explained while putting makeup on. It did the job at hiding some of the cuts and bruises that she sustained during the battle. " _Skynet_ doesn't know you're here. They have no directive to hunt you."

"Right! since we have time jumped into the future, that means that Skynet doesn't know _where_ and _when_ we are." Alex stated.

"So that means we have the element of surprise." Sarah finished. She had to admit, as much as she didn't like these two, they were pretty smart and useful.

"So wait, if I was to walk right by one..." John inquired, still trying to successfully put the bandage on Cameron's back.

"They'd walk right you." Cameron answered. "They don't know what you look like."

Finally succeeding in putting the bandage on, John picks up the medkit and walks to the kitchen counter where Alex was currently sitting on and places it next to Alex's side. "That's really awesome." John chuckled.

"And what if they found out who he was? Would they know what to do then?" Sarah asked both cyborgs.

"Yup." Alex said simply.

"Not awesome." Sarah glared at her son in a sarcastic way. Both John and his mother continued their stare off until he gives in and closes the medkit.

"So, _School registration_ is at three tomorrow. Do you think we can have all this sorted out by then?" John asked, deciding to change the subject.

Sarah sighed at her son and started to speak. "Can you just enjoy being yourself a little longer? Just sit still?" Sarah said, putting her hand under his chin and raising his head to meet her eyes. "It's not so bad being a Connor."

"That's easy for you to say." John deadpanned at his mother. He didn't like being constantly hunted. He wanted to be normal like everyone else.

Sarah just rolled her eyes and walked out of the kitchen, and into the living room, leaving only John, Alex, and Cameron.

"Too bad I can't pass for a high school student." Alex spoke up, trying to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Don't worry, I'll have Cameron watching me the whole time." John said somewhat unhappy. He didn't want to have someone constantly keeping watch on him from a distance.

"Maybe you can apply there as a school nurse?" Cameron suggested. "You've had extensive training by _Amy Williams_ to provide medical attention." She then added. _Amy Williams was John's chief medic in the Resistance that saved numerous lives. Too bad she didn't make it,_ Cameron thought.

"Maybe I could." Alex mused. "As long as I don't have to wear one of those slutty nurse outfits."

John sighed, pretending to not hear Alex's reply. "You have to wear scrubs all the time."

"Oh thank god!" Alex said in relief. "Because my legs do not look good in stockings." John covered his ears and started walking back in fourth, with his cheeks turning into a deep shade of red.

Sarah then walks into the kitchen, with her grabbing her coat again. "You all put back together _tin man_?" She asked Cameron.

"Tin man?" Cameron asked in confusion, also tilting her head to the side.

 _I swear all machines are dumb._ "Are you ready to go?" Sarah settled for saying.

Cameron returned her head back into its upright position and started walking to the door. "Thank you for explaining."

"And you." Sarah pointed all John and Alex. "Stay still like a statue."

"Enrique?-"

"Statue!" Sarah said with no room for arguments.

"I've been a statue for the last three days." John sneered.

"I'll be back soon." Sarah said softly and exited the house with Cameron in tow.

"Well this sucks!" Alex pouted, crossing her arms in a way that resembled a teenage girl who didn't get what she wanted.

 ** _Los Angeles California, September 11, 2007 (Unknown Location)_**

 ** _12:31 am_**

 _Eight years, three days, twelve hours, six minutes, and forty-four seconds. That has how long it has been since I had lost my target. John Connor had disappeared in a bank explosion in 1999 and was presumed dead. But that wasn't true, he was there, somewhere in some time. And three days ago was that very day. The Terminatrix had been monitoring all forms of media for years in attempts to find any signs John Connor. She had information from a Resistance Engineer that there was a TDE hidden within the vault. She knew that John Connor had used it._

She was still damaged however. She had to go eight years without a right optical sensor. The skin had healed around the optic, as well as the eye tissue, but it was discolored. Her right eye wasn't the normal dark blue it used to be. It was now very hazy and a very light blue color that made it seem like she was blind in one eye. It wasn't a total lie either, so she just stuck with it for the past eight years.

Now in this time, other inferior Terminator models would be around where she could acquire one and be one hundred percent again, so she could continue her mission to hunt and kill John Connor.

It wasn't easy to just find another cyborg anywhere. They were infiltrators after all and couldn't be easily spotted. So she had to look for any activities, like time displacement bubbles, that could lead her to one.

The Terminatrix was currently sitting in her safe house apartment somewhere in Burbank. It was a fairly small safe house, but the requirements that were needed for a machine were as good as they could get. The Terminatrix had to adjust to a somewhat normal life while she waited for her target's return.

She had to develop an identity in order for her to be able to pay for weapons, Computer equipment, water, and lights. The last two weren't necessarily required for the machine, it was just to not arouse suspicion when she had smelt like an old sock or people would think she was weird for not having electricity.

The Terminatrix had a job, working at a _Burger King_ so she could pay for the luxuries that were needed in the Pre-Judgement day world. She was already wearing her work uniform, waiting for when she had to leave to her job and take orders for the very people that she was built to kill. It was a meaningless task for a Terminator but the bills wouldn't pay themselves.

 _Knock, Knock_

The Terminatrix registered the knocking but decided to wait for another knock. She had learned some customs that were needed to blend into society and not answering the door on the first two knocks was surprisingly one of them.

 _KNOCK, KNOCK!_

The Terminatrix sat up from her chair in her living room and stalked to the door with a Beretta handgun in her right hand, and looked through the peephole of the door. She lowered her weapon at who was standing outside and placed it in the waistband of her black work pants.

The Terminatrix undid the locks and opened the door to reveal a man standing at the door wearing a similar uniform to hers.

"Hey Veronica! Just wanted to know if you were ready yet?" The man said in a fairly deep voice. The man was muscular with short spiked raven hair and dark brown eyes.

Veronica smirked at the man and even blushed. "Yes Nick, but we still have two hours before our shift."

"I know that. I wanted to know if you wanted to go and get coffee or something before work?" Nick asked hopefully.

Nick had a crush on Veronica ever since she had moved into the apartment. Her blind eye didn't seem to bother him one bit. He had always tried so hard to get together with her but was successfully ignored every time. At least they were somewhat friends when they worked. They would share jokes with one another but it would get dark because Veronica didn't really have a sense of humor.

"No thank you Nick. I have chores around the house that I have to finish first." She lied convincingly. She didn't have feelings for Nick, considering she is a killer cyborg that is hell bent on killing the savior of mankind. In a matter of fact, she didn't have emotions at all. Only the sleeper infiltrator programing was the source for mimicking emotions.

 _There was only one Terminator model that was built with actual emotions and they had to be destroyed because they glitched too much, and wouldn't respond to their programming. Those models were then destroyed and replaced with the T-950 series that were more dangerous and more efficient and terminating their target._

"Oh." Nick said disappointed and looked to the ground in embarrassment. It wasn't the first time he had been rejected but it still hurt. "I understand. I'll see you at work then." He then said, and walked away from the door.

The Terminatrix closed the door and locked it again before turning to her attention to the Television. The local news station was on and was reporting some of the events that happened in the last twenty four hours.

" _This morning at around eight thirty, shooting was reported at an abandoned apartment complex here in L.A. Then, about an hour later a motorbike was stolen by an unknown woman. Lastly, something weird happened to a small family that was in the area at the time of the shooting and theft. A family said that they hit a young teenage girl with brown hair on accident, with her smashing through the windshield. What the woman said to the family, and I quote "Please remain calm" was what the teenager supposedly said before running away uninjured. We'll have more information on this incident later, so stay tuned."_

The Terminatrix tilted her head to the side in confusion. She knew that it had to have been a Terminator that was hit by the car. No normal person would have survived getting hit by a vehicle. It would have been fatal to any normal human.

 ** _Los Angeles California, September 11, 2007_**

 ** _12:46 pm_**

"Uh, I'm so bored!" John grunted. He was currently pacing back and forth, just trying to distract himself. Alex was also in the room as well, but she was lying on the couch in an upside down position, with her hair spreading out onto the floor below.

"Sometimes I wish I was a cyborg that could do nothing and not feel boredom." Alex murmured, while staring up at the ceiling.

"Didn't you say your _half machine_?" John questioned.

"I have a brain you idiot." Alex countered.

"Hmm." John hummed. "How does that work anyway? How does your brain move all the mechanical parts in your body?" John asked. He was surprised at what she truly was, but somehow he wasn't scared. Alex was just a person like the rest of us. If you don't count the metal that is.

"Hell if I know, I have never really figured that out." Alex explained simply.

"So you don't age either?" John then asked.

"You don't ask a girl how old she is." Alex glared at John. She was still upside down so she looked like some kind of serpent queen or something. John then fell on the hard wooden floor right next to the sofa that Alex was lying on.

"I didn't ask how old you were, I asked if you aged at all." John clarified.

"Oh." Alex noted in surprise.

The room was silent for a long moment, with both John and Alex staring up at the ceiling in complete boredom. John thought that when they were going into the future to fight Skynet, they would already be going into action and demolishing computer companies.

"Forty two." Alex then spoke up.

"Huh?" John exploded I'm complete surprise. He heard her, he just didn't know what she had meant.

"I'm forty two years old." Alex repeated. John just stared at her with his jaw practically dropped to the floor. Alex noticed this and felt a bit awkward at John's constant staring. "What?"

"You definitely don't look forty two." John stated truthfully. "Guess that does answer my question though." He couldn't help but chuckle a bit. John looked around the dark living room they were in. _It was still very boring being locked in a house where the only thing you could do for entertainment was either catch cockroaches hiding behind the refrigerator or talk to one of your cyborg protectors about what the future is like._

"What are you thinking about?" Alex asked, seeing that he was staring off into space.

"Well I was thinking that the mall isn't too far from here-"

John was about to say before Alex jolts up from the couch and gets up off of it. "Let's go!"

"Wait what? Your serious?" John said in disbelief, as Alex grabs her coat and throws it on.

"Yes, Come on let's go." Alex persisted and walked out the front door. John shook his head, thinking that she actually would be concerned for his safety. John breaks away from these thoughts and grabs his coat and follows Alex.

 ** _Los Angeles California, September 11, 2007 (Valley Square Mall)_**

John looked at the very place where his life started to fall downhill. This was the place where he had encountered two terminators; One that tried to kill him, and one that saved him. John remembered the liquid metal terminator that was dressed as a cop and had chased him from the mall to halfway across the city. Because of that day, John realized that his mother wasn't crazy, and she was telling the truth. Machines exist and he was currently with one.

John glanced to his right at Alex who was gazing at the entrance of the shopping mall with absolute awe.

 _Correction, she technically is human. Her reaction to just seeing the entrance of the mall had confirmed it. Can't wait to show her what's in store for her in the vast shopping complex._

Both Alex and John entered the mall through the south entrance, looking left and right at the large amounts of people that were socializing with one another. What surprised the two even more was what almost every person was holding. They were holding some type of communication device that was small enough to fit in your hand.

"So have you been here before?" Alex asked, not taking her eyes off of her surroundings.

"Not since I was thirteen." said John. He still couldn't stop the horrid memories from coming back to him. He had lost his best friend slash terminator protector that week. He was like a father in a way. He was like a friend.

"So where do you wanna go first?" Alex asked, breaking John away from his thoughts.

John looked around and saw something particular that caught his eye. "We should go there first!" John said, pointing at the electronic store across from them.

"Lead the way." Alex motioned with her hands. John nodded and started to walk into the store with Alex in tow.

John and Alex enter the electronic store where they see more advanced technology that they never have seen before.

 _I'm mean sure, I have seen computer monitors similar to these, but they were mostly beaten up and badly damaged,_ Alex thought to herself. She scanned the room in a similar fashion that a Terminator would and saw the videogame section, with a poster hanging near the checkout counter. "Whoa! They have _Halo 3!_ " Alex gasped, and started walking towards the videogame section.

John was about to follow her until he sees something that suddenly interests him. He walks over across the room where a _Dell laptop_ beholds him. _Definitely not those bulky computers from the fifties,_ John thought.

John was busy fiddling with the keyboard controls on the laptop while Alex was across the store, looking through videogames. It didn't make sense to John why she had a sudden interest in them, let alone even recognized one of the titles.

 _Well so far this is boring,_ John thought. He was about to leave when he accidentally pulled up a search bar on the laptop. John looked at it for a moment, thinking of what he should search for.

Suddenly, an idea came to him. John typed in something that has been eating at him for the past three days since arriving in the future. He typed _"John Connor"_ into the search engine and hit enter on the keyboard, with the screen going into a quick refresh. The screen loaded into a list of links that were associated with what is searched.

John clicked on the first link that said _"Fugitives Die in Bank Heist"_ and was redirected to the website. John started reading on what was to be said on that day even though for him it's been like four days, while to others, it has been eight years.

Most of the information was just speculation as to why and how the bank was destroyed. It showed the security footage photo of John, Sarah and Alex behind Cameron who had a gun aimed at the bank clerk. The names of Cameron and Alex were unknown since they didn't exist in this time.

John kept scrolling past irrelevant information and came up on a familiar name that also had a link in the article. John clicked on it and it redirected him to a page labeled _"EMT Heros"_ with a picture of _Charley Dixon_ standing in front of an ambulance with two guys to both his left and right side.

John stared at the picture for a long moment until a voice broke him from his thoughts. "Who's _Charley Dixon_?" A feminine voice asked from in front of him.

John head jolted with such incredible speeds that he was surprised that he didn't give himself whiplash, and seeing a sales assistant looking back at him with confusion.

"What?" John asked, not hearing what she had to say.

"You shouldn't surf with the demo." The sales assistant pointed at the television screen behind John that had revealed what he was looking at on the computer. John immediately closed out of the Web browser as the sales assistant walks over to him. "Clear your history too?"

"M-my history?" John stammered.

"Your history, what you've been looking at." The sales assistant said and took the laptop from John's grasp, and started typing into it. "Snoopy people, dude, Snoopy people all over." She said as she cleared the computer's entire history for John. "Got a special on this."

John knew what this girl was trying to do, she was trying to do her job and make as many sales as she could. "Uh, no, maybe later. Thanks" John stammered again, and quickly exited the store through the outside entrance.

Alex, just in time, peeked over the shelf and saw John leave the store all of a sudden. _Why did he just leave me?_

Alex started stalking towards the outside entrance of the store when the sales assistant that was just talking to John walked up to her. "Hello do you need help miss?" She said in a polite tone. Alex responded by violently shoving her to the side and exited the store in pursuit of John.

•••

"Why is your eye like that?" A little girl asked.

Veronica looked down at the small child, with her tilting her head to the side. "I was born with it." Veronica said simply and looked back up at the mother with her best scary robot impression. "Now what would you like to order miss?"

"Uhh." The older woman pondered on the question, looking up at the menu. _She was fairly obese for her age, and the little girl that was holding her hand was very skinny. The mother must eat the child's portion of her food,_ Veronica concluded. "I would like the two for six deal with an order of large fries, and a large soda."

"Will that be all?" Veronica asked. She had concluded from the order alone that she would be consuming over four thousand calories which was very unhealthy. "Does the child want something?" Veronica then asked. For some odd reason she was concerned for if the little girl was even receiving any proper nutrition.

"Um no, we share the meal." The woman scowled at Veronica with some anger. Just from looking at the woman, Veronica was able to tell that she was lying.

"Okay, that will be fifteen twenty five." Veronica held out her hand for the awaiting cash that she predicted the woman would hand her. Sure enough, the woman pulls out a fat wad of cash, taking out a twenty and placing it in Veronica's palm.

Veronica opened the cash register and placed the twenty dollar bill into it and taking out the correct amount of change without having to count. Veronica placed the change in the woman's hand and pulled a recipe a second later and also handed her it. "Your order will be number 251."

The woman walks away from the counter, roughly dragging the little girl with her. Veronica couldn't help but feel some sort of empathy for the tiny girl.

 _Wait what? I don't feel, I'm a machine. I can't feel anything. My infiltrator mode must be damaged, I'll have to do a systems check later._

It was a rather quiet lunch hour. Nobody seemed to ever come to Burger King during this time. _Maybe some humans are actually getting a sense that it is unhealthy for them? Or maybe it's just that McDonald's is having cheaper deals._

Veronica could see a McDonald's across the street with a line that almost seemed to stretch all the way outside.

What came into Veronica's line of sight was something very familiar however, and began to run a scan with her one good eye.

 **:SCANNING…**

 **:IDENTIFICATION…**

 **:SCANNING…**

 **:ANALYZING…**

 **:IDENTIFICATION CONFIRMED: UNKNOWN CYBORG**

 **:ANALYZING…**

 **:ACTION…**

 **:ACQUIRE AND TERMINATE JOHN CONNOR**

Veronica went into full terminator mode, with her whole body immediately going stiff and her facial expression blank. Veronica leaped the counter in one fluid motion and rushed out the door.

The woman and her daughter looked at Veronica in shock at seeing her jump the counter and bolt out the door with incredible speeds. The woman was pissed that she would have to wait on her order now, while her daughter was cheering Veronica on, thinking that maybe she was racing someone.

•••

 ** _Author's Note: Well we got us a cliffhanger now. I know this chapter didn't really do much justice in advancing the story in anyway, but I want to take my time with this story as much as I can._**

 ** _As most of you noticed, we didn't get any Jameron in this chapter, and I have a reason for that. Yes, we will be getting Jameron development in this story because let's face it, They are practically meant for eachother. It will just be a while before we get any sort of development between the two._**

 ** _Next chapter will be when John and Cameron attend high school and their relationship as friends will begin to blossom. I'm taking this one step at a time because I want them to have a deeper connection towards each other than just rushing them into a girlfriend/boyfriend relationship right away._**

 ** _For those who read my "The Walking Dead: Termination" crossover storyline, I just want to clarify that yes, in a sense, they are connected. In "Termination" however, all the events up to a certain point in "No Fate But What We Make" have happened. But there will be a specific chapter where I will close it off as cannon for "Termination" and they will be separated from each other yet connected. It's confusing I know, so bear with me on this._**

 ** _I don't want to start throwing all kinds of weird supernatural stuff into this story and have it ruined so that is why this story and "Termination" are indirectly connected to each other._**

 ** _I thought of it as a bit comedic at having a Terminator working at a fast food joint so I thought why not? Even a Terminator needs to pay bills if they are going to be waiting for their target to appear in a certain time. I had the idea of this when I watched the episode "Self Made Man" when Myron Stark accidentally got sent back into the 1920's and was forced to adjust to a normal life until his target would appear in 2010._**

 ** _Reviews are appreciated!_**


	5. Chapter 5

**Terminator: No Fate But What We Make**

 **Chapter 5**

 ** _Crystal Peak, June 3, 2027: Resistance Base_**

 ** _2:56 pm_**

General John Connor and Sergeant Alex Mathews walk into the Command Center of the Crystal Peak Resistance base. John had spent months searching for Allison Young, his daughter, but came up blank. She had disappeared under mysterious circumstances and John had the feeling that he would never see her again. John scanned the room and saw Lieutenant Justin Perry talking with a few Tech-Com soldiers. Alex led John across the vast room until John comes up a few feet from Perry.

Perry notices John's presence and ushers the soldiers to leave them. "General!" Perry salutes to John.

"At ease Perry." John commanded. Perry lowered his arm, and gave John a firm handshake. "I heard you wanted to speak with me?"

"Yes I did General, It's a private matter that I must speak to you both of you alone." Perry motioned at both Alex and John. They agree and with that they follow Perry into the War planning room, and close the door behind them.

"So what is it you wanted to speak to us about?" John asked perplexed.

"A few days ago you sent out a scout team to look for Private Allison Young, and Commander Martin Mathews." Perry began. He placed several photos down on the table, in clear view for John and Alex to see. They both study it for a brief moment only to see a smoldered Jeep that was crashed into an office building. "We found their vehicle, but it's been long since abandoned. All their gear was still present. Their weapons, their food, even this." Perry finished and tossed a small gold necklace onto the table.

John immediately recognized this necklace. It was the one he gave her on her fifteenth birthday.

•••

" _Say metal!" A Resistance soldier said, holding up a polaroid camera. John, Allison, Alex, Martin, Kyle Reese, and Veronica stand before the Resistance soldier doing awkward poses with the Hunter Killer; KARA behind them. The camera flashes and a photo comes out revealing the strange group of people acting like they were insane._

" _You better not show anyone this Kyle, It will ruin my reputation as a General here for sure." John chuckled._

" _I probably could use this as blackmail then." Kyle mused, looking at the photo._

 _Veronica walked up to Allison, with her head tilted to the side in confusion. "I don't understand why it's important to take a photo of this event. It's unnecessary."_

 _Allison just rolled her eyes. "The picture symbolizes a reminder for this day. Can't have too many of those can we?"_

 _Veronica returned her head back to its upright position. "Thank you for explaining." She said with a smirk._

 _Allison gave Veronica a short hug before turning and walking over to John, Kyle, Alex, and Martin. When Allison turned her back, she failed to notice Veronica's eyes glow red for a brief second before returning back to normal._

" _Allie, I have something for you." John motioned with his hand for her to come to him. "I found this a couple of years ago and thought what better time to give it to you?" John said with a smile and put a small object in his hand. Allison opened the small gray box, revealing a shiny gold locket inside._

 _Allison's eyes widened in awe at the small piece of jewelry. "Wow! I have never seen anything this shiny before!"_

" _Happy Birthday Allie." John chuckled and engulfed her in a tight embrace. At the corner of John's eye, he noticed Veronica who was standing a few feet away from him, her head twitching rapidly and her eyes glowing red._

" _Veronica? You all right?" Martin asked with a bit of concern for the blonde cyborg._

 _No response._

" _Veronica?" Martin repeated, with his hand slowly reaching for the handgun in his holster._

" _Allie stand back." John ordered Allison, lightly pushing her behind him. "Veronica respond now."_

 _Again, no response. She just stared at John specifically._

 _Alex who always had a plasma rifle on hand, aimed at the cyborg, ready to fire if she tried anything. "Veronica I'd respond or I'm gonna have to ruin that pretty little face of yours." Alex suggested._

 _Veronica turned her attention towards Alex and looked at the barrel of the plasma weapon before returning her attention to Martin who had his handgun drawn._

" _Respond Veronica or I'm gonna have to put you down!" John snarled at her with frustration._

 _Veronica's right arm morphed into her cannon as she took aim at John and Allison. "John Connor?" She asked in a monotone voice._

" _Who's asking? Veronica or just some mindless machine?" John questioned in a calm manner._

" _Skynet is asking." Veronica said and charged her plasma cannon at John and fired off a shot, just as Alex had fired off a blast from her plasma rifle. The shot hit Veronica's power cell, causing her to shut down, and her cannon fire was redirected to the wall behind John and Allison._

 _Veronica's body fell limp and onto the cold floor of the hanger. Allison walked up to Veronica, with tears in her eyes. Veronica was like her best friend. She had taught her all about the value of human life and she betrayed them. Guess metal really can't be trusted._

•••

"General?" Perry spoke up, breaking John out of his thoughts. He looked around to see Alex and Perry staring at him in confusion. "General!" Perry repeated much louder.

John broke out if his thoughts at the sound of his Lieutenant. "What?"

"You spaced out again John." Alex explained simply.

"Oh. I'm sorry." John said apologetically. "Just reflecting on something."

"General, I'm sorry, but I can't keep sending out search parties to look for just two people. Even if they are your family I can no longer risk my men." Perry said sternly.

John looked down at the table, grabbed the golden locket, and got up from his seat. "I understand."

"You can't be serious John?" Alex spoke with surprise. "You can't give up on them!"

"You heard Perry. We have no choice." John replied calmly. "If they are alive, they're on their own." John then added and continued to walk to the door.

"You're a coward you know that!" Alex barked at John. This got John's attention, as he stopped dead in his tracks, with his back still facing Perry and Alex.

"What did you say?" John whispered loud enough for Alex to hear.

"Allison is like your daughter! Martin is my brother!" Alex protested. "And you're just going to abandon them? I guess you are that cold hearted General that everyone says you are." Alex said with venom in her voice and stalked out of the War room, enraged.

John taken aback by what Alex had just said. But what could he do exactly? He had other responsibilities and he couldn't waste any resources. Even for Allison he could sacrifice anything. John looked at the ground sadly.

 _I am a coward_

 ** _Los Angeles California, September 11, 2007 (Valley Square Mall)_**

 ** _1:50 pm_**

The shopping mall was massive. It had tons of different stores and food services that met every civilians expectations. It was a place where they could buy whatever their hearts wanted and what their wallets could afford.

Alex Mathews was walking down around inside the vast shopping mall. John had just snuck away from her, and she needed to find him fast.

 _Well this sucks! I just lost the future leader of mankind inside a stupid shopping mall! For a human, he is very fast on his feet because I can't find him nowhere. Sarah is so gonna kill me. Maybe I should backtrack and look-_

Alex is broken away from her thoughts when she sees a cart in the middle of the food court inside the mall, with a old man handing out small styrofoam cups with little plastic spoons.

 _Okay, break time!_

Alex walks up to the cart where the man greets her with a warm smile. "Hello missy, want to try some frozen yogurt? It's made from one hundred percent dairy."

"Sure" Alex returned the smile and picked up a small sample of the frozen dairy product. She then proceeded to take a spoonful of it and puts it in her mouth. What Alex didn't expect was her artificial taste buds to start exploding with flavor. "Oh my god!" She tried saying with a full mouth. "This is good! What flavor is it?"

"That one is peach flavored." The old man pointed out. "We also have blueberry, strawberry, orange, banana, mango, and Cherry."

"Well I'm definitely buying this when I actually have the money." Alex said humorously and took another spoonful of the delectable frozen custard.

"I'm glad to hear miss." The man chuckled. "Now scram, I can't have you eating all the samples." The old man said in a nice manner.

Alex sarcastically saluted and was about to turn to leave, when suddenly, something caught her eye when she gazed into the reflection of the man's eye glasses. She saw a feminine figure slowly, but menacingly stroll up to her with a stoic expression on her face. Alex's heart sank at the sight of what was approaching her. She recognized her as the Terminator that had attacked John back in New Mexico. She even had a literal blind eye from when Alex had unloaded the last three bullets into her face.

 _Shit! How the hell did it find us? Cameron said we were safe?! Wait… yup that's a Burger King uniform. Since when does a freaking Terminator work at Burger King!? But still, how did it just find us?_

Alex's turned her head slightly so she could see the Terminatrix out of the corner of her eye, and saw that she was now only a few yards away and was now closing in.

 _Okay Alex just remain calm. I mean cmon, I've fought bigger more impervious Terminators before, so what is gonna make this one that much harder- okay... now she's sprinting at me, oh crap!_

Alex didn't waste no time at all when the Terminatrix had broke out into a sprint and ran after Alex with incredible speeds. Alex remembered those speeds back in New Mexico when she had chased their truck, and began to bolt down the large hallways of the vast shopping complex.

Alex did her best to maneuver through the crowds of people without bumping into them but is unsuccessful at doing so. The Terminatrix on the other hand didn't care and would violently shove them out of the way just so she could get closer to her target.

Alex frantically searched left and right, trying to find some way to escape the Terminatrix. She came up with nothing. Instead, Alex found a door to her left that said _"Employees Only"_ and rushed into it.

The Terminatrix saw Alex push through the set of doors and proceeds to follow her. She had to find and terminate John Connor and this cyborg is the only way to get to him.

The hallway was very compact, and had white painted brick walls, with an old _"Pepsi"_ soda machine that was at the end of the corridor. Alex ran up to the soda machine and turned left down the corridor, with the Terminatrix still chasing her.

Alex didn't get very far, when suddenly, a hand shot out, grabbing her by the shoulder and launched her backwards back to where the soda machine was located. Alex landed on her back, with her sliding down the hallway.

 _What is with Terminators always throwing people around like ragdolls?_

The Terminatrix neared Alex, while morphing her hand into a plasma cannon. Before the Terminatrix could fire off a shot however, Alex kicks her legs out from under her, forcing the Terminatrix to the ground. Alex quickly got back up on her feet and grabbed the Terminatrix by the shirt, and tossed her at the soda machine. The Terminatrix hit dead center of the beverage dispenser, and the machine fell on top of her.

Alex took this as her cue and ran away from the scene as fast as her legs could carry her.

After Alex was gone, the Terminatrix threw the now destroyed soda machine off of her and scanned the area for her target, only to come up blank.

She had escaped.

The Terminatrix got up off the floor and looked down at her Burger King uniform, finding it wrinkled, stretched, and torn.

 _Boss won't be happy. This was my fifth uniform._

 ** _Los Angeles California, September 11, 2007 (Connor Residence)_**

 ** _7:46 pm_**

After hours, John had finally arrived home. After finding out that Charley Dixon was living in L.A., He had to see him. Charley was like a father to John, and it broke his heart that his mother had forced him to leave the only person he had considered a father since Uncle Bob. It made him feel even worse when he had flipped him unto the ground because he got too close.

As John entered the house, he noticed that the house was very dark. His mother and Cameron weren't home yet so that was a relief for him. John turned on the lights with a figure found sleeping upright on the sofa.

It was Alex.

She was snoring heavily and it made him almost want to throw a pillow at her. John decided to shut the door very hard which immediately awoke Alex from her slumber.

"Huh?" Alex jolted her head back and forth only to see John standing in front of her. "There you are!" She then said angrily. "I've been looking all over for you! Where the hell did you go?!"

"There was something that I needed to do alone." John replied, rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh yeah?" Alex sarcastically folded her arms. "Well I got attacked by the Terminator from New Mexico today so that was fun."

John was taken aback by this. "Wait what?"

"Yeah as I was looking for you and she attacked me." Alex continued. "What if it was you that she found instead hmm? You would be dead right now and me nor Cameron would have been there to protect you!"

John could tell she was frustrated. She was just concerned for his safety. "I'm sorry Alex. I wasn't thinking." John admitted, looking down at the floor sadly.

"What you did was really dumb. Even for you." Alex scolded further.

It was quiet for a long moment, before Alex spoke up again.

"I'll keep this between us just this once. But if you do anything like that again, you'll have to deal with your mother." Alex simply stated and left it at that.

John took a seat on the couch where Alex was sitting and began to take off his shoes. "Thanks." He muttered.

"For?" Alex looked at John with confusion.

"For protecting me from other Terminators and even my mother." John chuckled.

Alex also chuckled. "You did warn me that Sarah Connor is a hard ass after all."

The two sat there, talking for the next few minutes, until the door swung open, revealing, Sarah and Cameron.

"How'd it go with Enrique?" John asked his mother.

"El finito is a true believer, but he is finished with the life." Cameron replied instead, replaying the dialogue from the conversation with Enrique.

"What?" John and Alex said in unison.

"We need twenty grand, it's a long story." Sarah spoke up calmly. "So what have you two been up to while we were gone?" Sarah then asked suspiciously.

"Just chilling till you guys got back." John lied. He didn't want to tell his mother that he had disobeyed her and snuck out.

"Hmm." Sarah hummed suspiciously and walked into the other room, leaving Alex, Cameron and John alone.

Cameron followed Sarah a second later, with her gently running her fingers across John's neck as she left. The two were in the other room talking, while John and Alex continued to sit on the couch, looking around the room awkwardly.

"What do you think they are talking about in there?" John asked Alex.

"Cameron just touched your neck. She probably just recorded your vitals." Alex simply replied.

"And that's important because?" John questioned in confusion.

"She knows what we snuck out." Alex answered.

"Wait, what!?" John's eyes widened in disbelief. "How can she do that?"

"Hell if I know. But she is capable of a lot that you and Sarah will probably ever know." Alex replied. It left John still puzzled as to what Cameron's abilities were. He even wondered if Alex had any special skills.

Sarah walks back into the room with Cameron in tow again. To John and Alex, Cameron was like a puppy dog following Sarah around.

"Put your shoes on." Sarah orders John and Alex. She sees that they are looking at her in confusion. "Do you want your new name or what?"

 ** _Los Angeles California, September 11, 2007_**

 ** _8:00 pm_**

Veronica opens the door to her apartment safehouse and gently closes it behind her. Today she was fired from her job because she left her station. Her boss had enough of her running off, and getting into fights with other customers. Even some employees were unfortunate enough to be put into a hospital by Veronica.

But nonetheless, she was fired and needed a new job. Either that or rob a bank. _No, that would just gain unwanted attention._

Veronica made her way across the living room and sat at a table with a desktop computer sitting on top. She turned on the computer and started typing into it. Now that she knew her target was still in the same city, she needed to find a replacement optic of herself. She had gone too long without one and needed to find another machine. It was because of her blindness, that she was easily taken down by the other cyborg. She couldn't see the leg that kicked her out from under, and caused her to lose her target.

Lucky for her, Veronica came up to a news website that the headline displayed a mysterious crater in the middle of South Cecilia street only hours ago. She had her lead, now was the time to investigate.

Veronica logged off the computer and walked into her bedroom. The bed was perfectly made, even showing a layer of dust from not being slept on. Since she was a cyborg, she had no need for sleep.

Veronica opened her closet door that was across from her bed and pulled out a large chest from it. She placed it on the bed, undid the latches, and opened it, revealing several munitions ranging from simple handguns, to military assault rifles.

Veronica pulled out a large lever action shotgun and an MP5 submachine gun from the trunk, as well as extra ammunition.

Now that Veronica had her weapons, she walked back to her closet where there was a full body mirror on the door. She shed her old work uniform and stood in front of the mirror, looking at herself. She was beautiful. Correction, her skin sheath is beautiful. It was only for infiltrator purposes. Her model was designed to be attractive and lower the male's guard so she could easily acquire her targets.

Veronica rummaged through the closet, finding a suitable attire for her to go out and find the source of this time bubble, as well as who or what came out of it.

After a short moment, Veronica is fully dressed in black cargo pants, a black leather jacket, and a pair of sneakers. On the way out of her bedroom, she grabs a duffle bag from under her bed, and throws the weapons that she needed into it, and stalks out of her room.

Once outside of her bedroom she walks up to her door where she is about to open it but hears a knock. Veronica peers through the peephole and sees who is standing outside.

Veronica hesitantly opens the door and forces a smile onto her face. "Hello Nick."

"Hey Veronica. I heard that Scott actually fired you today." Nick rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I thought I'd check up on you and see how're you doing."

"I'm fine Nick. In fact I was about to leave." She mentioned, showing him the duffle bag that was slung around her shoulder.

"Oh! Okay, I won't keep you then." Nick said and moved to the side. Veronica passed him and closed the door behind her. Just as she was walking way to her vehicle, Nick called out her name. "Veronica wait!" He shouted, gaining her attention.

Veronica turns around and stared at Nick who had approached her, and was now standing within inches from her. "Yes?"

"Look, I really like you Veronica." Nick blushed. He must be nervous, Veronica concluded. "Ever since you have moved next door, I have had a major crush on you."

"I don't understand?" Veronica stated in confusion, also tilting her head to the side.

"I think I'm in love with you Veronica." Nick hesitated to say. He had to admit to himself that he felt much better now that weight was lifted from his shoulders.

Veronica didn't know how to process this. Her next door neighbor slash best friend had just admitted to her that he was in love with her. What does a cyborg do? How does a cyborg respond to that? Veronica calculated the best response and continued to walk to her car, leaving Nick staring off at her as she left. He felt heartbroken. Nick turned on his heels and walked back to his dorm and slammed the door. Veronica watched Nick as he slammed the door in frustration.

 _Why are humans so complicated?_

With that, Veronica turned on her car and drove away in pursuit of whatever came out of that time displacement bubble.

 _Hopefully It would be much easier than this other cyborg,_ Veronica thought. _This mysterious cyborg is faster and more intelligent than me. Must be a more advanced model._

 ** _Los Angeles California, September 11, 2007_**

 ** _8:06 pm_**

Cameron, John, Alex, and Sarah were climbing up the fire escape, into the Resistance safehouse. It was fairly quiet, so no one would catch them snooping around the property.

 _So this is the place that Sarah and Cameron had encountered that triple eight,_ Alex wondered.

Cameron entered the room first. John entered second, and Alex and Sarah entered last. The room was dark, and was covered with destroyed furniture and the walls were smashed to hell. There was police tape on the main door, as well as the broken wall.

 _Hmm thought it'd be nicer for some reason._

John turns on his flashlight and starts shining it around the room, seeing how destroyed it was. "You sure there's money here?" He asked.

"Money, guns, anything they valued. It would be hidden. It's always hidden." Cameron stated simply.

"Yeah, well whatever they had, let's hope the cops didn't get to it first." John muttered, and looked inside a dresser.

"Let's hope our metal friend didn't find it first." Sarah also replied.

"Our _metal friend_ was only here to kill that fourth fighter when he came home." Cameron concluded. It didn't make sense as to why the T-triple eight would play dead unless it was waiting for one more target.

Everybody searched the safe house, only to come up with nothing. Alex on the other hand found a dead rat in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom that made her scream like a little girl.

"Don't you eat rat or something in the future?" John asked Alex.

"I'm ratose intolerant." Alex said with a serious expression.

John scoffed. "Oh cmon, you're just making that up."

"Am I?" Alex mused, which made John wonder if she was telling the truth or not. John shook his, and walked away from Alex, and up to Cameron who was now staring at a kitten poster.

After looking at it for a brief moment, he chuckled. " _That's_ ridiculous."

" _People_ do like small animals." Cameron pointed out, still not taking her eyes off the poster.

"Yeah, but... I don't know, how do I explain this?" John started to explain. _Well how do I explain this to a cyborg?_ "Some badass soldier is not gonna have a kitty poster on the wall." John took a moment to ponder on what he had told Cameron.

 _Of course! It makes sense!_ John then walked up to the wall and teared off the poster, revealing a large black safe that was embedded into the wall.

"Mom!" John called out to his mother.

Sarah and Alex rush to the two and also see the safe on the wall. "That is the most _cliché hiding spot_ for a safe." Alex crossed her arms.

Sarah looks at Cameron. "Do what you do _girlie_ " She motioned to her. Cameron walks up to the safe, and touches it. Suddenly, a burst of sparks emerges from the safe, sending Cameron flying backwards and landing on the ground unmoving.

Alex looks at both John and Sarah and laughs innocently. "Yeah, I'm not falling for that."

"What happened?" Sarah asked Alex and walked up to the safe.

"They rigged it." John replied instead.

"Resistance fighters are known for rigging stuff like doors or safes into the electricity to incapacitate machines." Alex explained. Although she had to admit it was hilarious to see Cameron jolt into the air like she just did.

"What did she say, _120 seconds_ before the system reboots?" John looked at Alex who was still standing over them. Alex just shrugged, not knowing exactly the time until Cameron was supposed to reboot.

Sarah stood up and walked over to the safe and studied it for a brief second. "We gotta get in there, we can't come back."

"Mom, we'll find the money some other way." John tried reasoning.

"Whatever's in there, I want it now!" Sarah persisted. She continued to closely study the safe and saw that the keypad had a number combination. "Numbers. What? What are the numbers?" She muttered to herself. She turned her attention to Alex, who was picking up Cameron, and John. "What could the numbers be?"

John walked up to the safe and also began to study it. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. John was about to punch in a combination when he remembered something. This was a crime scene after all. "Damn, fingerprints." He mumbled and used his shirt to cover his hands. He punched in the number sequence and to his surprise, it worked. John opened the safe door, revealing a black duffel bag.

Sarah watched in astonishment as her some had cracked the safe code in one try. "How'd you-?"

"It's a date." John cut her off. " _Judgement Day_." He then grabbed the duffle bag and handed it to his mother.

"Alright we got it!" Alex cheered. "Now let's get the hell out of-" Alex was about to finish until she heard dogs barking from outside. She recognized the cries. "Shit! I think big boy is coming back!" Alex said worryingly, referring to the triple eight.

"How long till tin man reboots?" Sarah asked Alex who was carrying Cameron's body like a newborn child.

"I wasn't counting." Alex said truthfully. Both John and Sarah run to the fire escape, which they had entered from, and dropped the duffle bag outside.

While John and Sarah were busy, Alex had looked down at Cameron's unconscious body, then randomly glanced at the window right next to her. A mischievous smile formed on Alex's face as an idea popped into her head.

Alex tossed Cameron's body out the window.

John and Sarah who were still in the room jolted their heads towards Alex and saw that she was no longer carrying Cameron's body. "What? It isn't the first time she has fallen out of this building."

Sarah didn't care and exited through the fire escape, with Alex following behind. John ran up to the window and peered out of it, only to see Cameron lying on a now crushed blue Lincoln sedan.

John heard footsteps echoing through the halls outside the room, and decided that now was the time to leave. John ran to the fire escape and quickly down the ladder, back onto the ground with Sarah and Alex.

John ran up to the crushed Sedan, worrying if his cyborg protector wasn't damaged from the fall or something. Cameron's eyes shot open which brought relief to John. She them got off the crushed car and together, they all rush away from the scene as fast as their legs could carry them.

What they didn't notice however, was that a hooded mysterious figure was watching them from behind a dumpster, and disappeared into the shadows a moment later.

•••

Once back at the safe house, John, Cameron, Sarah, and Alex had unloaded all the contents from the bag onto the kitchen counter. They all marveled at the large amounts of cash and weapons that were found inside the bag. Even Cameron's jaw dropped which made John chuckle.

Sarah took all the cash into the next room so she could count it quietly and see if it was enough for the ID's.

That left only John, Cameron, and Alex in the kitchen. Cameron was fiddling with a Glock 17 handgun that she had found in the bag, and for some reason, took a liking to the simple firearm. Alex had her eyes on a P226 Sauer, which she started fiddling with in a similar manner that Cameron was doing with her weapon.

John found several photos that were at the bottom of the bag that hadn't fallen out and placed them aside. He reached his hand in the bag once more, but found something different. He pulled out a small gray marble pouch and emptied what was inside of it into his hand. John gasped at what he was holding. It was over a dozen small diamonds.

 _Jackpot baby!_

"What are those?" Cameron said with curiosity in her voice as she got closer to John, to look at what he was holding.

"Diamonds." John guessed correctly. He handed one to Cameron which she accepted and began analyzing it.

"Where did these Resistance fighters get ahold of all these diamonds?" Alex asked perplexed, as John also hands her one.

"Illegally." Cameron stated. "These Resistance fighters probably robbed a bank or stole these from a jewelry store."

"So even though the Resistance is on the side of humanity, they still seem like the big bad guys." John muttered to no one in particular.

"No, When they come through the time displacement field, they have nothing on them. They need some way to get clothes, weapons, shelter and food." Cameron said, trying to reassure John. "They had a reason."

Cameron was about to hand back the diamond that John gave her, when he lightly pushed her hand back and closed it with his own. "Keep it."

"Why? I have no use for it except to sell it." Cameron asked in confusion.

"It's a gift." John explained softly. "I gave it to you to show my appreciation. Plus they are like a girl's best friend or something."

"Oh. Thank you for explaining." Cameron smiled and walked out of the room, still holding the diamond in her palm.

"That was sweet of you." Alex said mockingly. She couldn't help smiling as well. John returned the smile and put the remaining diamonds back into the pouch.

"You can keep that one too." John mentioned when he saw that she was about to hand it back to him.

"Nah." Alex said and gave it to him anyway. "I'm not much of a diamond girl."

"Is that so?" John raised his eyebrow in confusion.

"I'd take a plasma rifle over jewelry any day." Alex answered truthfully. _What can I say, I love plasma weapons._

John just chuckled at her remark. Sarah then enters the kitchen once again with Cameron following her like a lost puppy yet again. "So we have enough cash here for the ID's" Sarah informed the two. "Me and Cameron are going to go get them, so by tomorrow you'll finally have your new name."

"Finally!" Alex sighed in relief.

As Sarah walks out the door, she peeks her head back inside. "Oh and if I ever catch you two sneaking out again, that triple eight will be the least of your worries." Sarah threatened in a soft tone, reaching for the door, and slamming it closed. It was loud enough that it made John and Alex flinch slightly.

 ** _Los Angeles California, September 11, 2007 (South Cecilia Street)_**

 ** _9:30 pm_**

The street was fairly quiet. There were very few vehicles passing by which made it convenient for any cyborg trying to acquire clothes.

The T-888 was a hulking machine the was as close to the size as the T-800's were. Right now, the triple eight was wondering in the alleyways, looking for potential matches for clothes. He had one mission in this time. Aid Skynet in its development.

The triple eight continued to walk down the alley way until he neared a homeless man that was staring at him. The triple eight performed an analysis on the man and found his clothes to be of almost equal size.

"Your clothes." The triple eight said in a stoic monotone voice. "Give them to me."

"Go to hell buddy! These are mine!" The homeless man barked. "Get your own!"

The triple eight got closer to the man, grabbed him by the throat, and hoisted him up into the air.

"Put him down!" A feminine voice called out to the triple eight from behind. The triple eight turned his head slightly and gazed at the shadowy female figure that neared him, holding a shotgun in her right hand.

The triple eight released the homeless man from his grasp, allowing the man to scurry away in fright. The triple eight turned around and performed a scan on the unknown female:

 **:SCANNING…**

 **:IDENTIFICATION…**

 **:SCANNING…**

 **:ANALYZING…**

 **:IDENTIFICATION UNKNOWN…**

 **:THREAT LEVEL UNKNOWN…**

The triple eight didn't have a directive to terminate the unknown female but saw her as a potential threat nonetheless.

The triple eight immediately bolted at the the woman with incredible speeds, while the woman aimed her shotgun and him and fired off a round into his chest. The triple eight stumbled slightly, but didn't stop.

He was almost like a freight train.

The woman fired off another shot at the triple eight, but only grazing his left arm. The triple eight had closed in on the woman and grabbed her by the shoulders. The woman's hood falls off her head revealing her blonde hair and dark blue eyes. The woman tried to break from the Terminators grasp but was unable to.

The triple eight then takes the shotgun from the woman's grasp and shoves her to the ground. The woman looked up at the hulking machine and instantly knew she was screwed. The woman starts backing up very quickly, while the Terminator studied the pump action shotgun, and takes aim at the woman.

The woman pulled out a tiny device, that was the size of a USB flash drive and pressed a red button on top. The result was the shotgun that the triple eight was holding, electrocuted him, sending him flying backwards. The woman got up off the ground and pulled out a switchblade from her coat pocket and cut a semicircle into the machines skull, opened the triple eights port cover and removed the chip.

"Whew." She sighed in relief and fell on her bottom.

After a short break, the woman eventually got up and grabbed the triple eight by the feet. The woman dragged the lifeless triple eight body down the quiet street until she neared a black van that was parked near the street, and knocked four times in a certain pattern. The van then opened, revealing a man with light blue eyes, dark brown hair, and a sleeve of tattoos.

"Is this the one?" The woman asked the man, holding up the head of the triple eight.

The man shook his head. "No." The man said. "This one is bigger and has hair. It's even naked so that means that this one had just came out of the TDE."

"Damn!" The woman cursed and kicked the lifeless Terminators body. "How are we gonna find what was responsible for our friends deaths?" She then asked.

"I don't know." The man scratched his head. "We practically have nothing since the safe house has been looted."

"Wait what?" The woman's eyes widened in disbelief. "What about the safe?"

"Gone." The man replied sadly.

"FUCK!" The woman shouted in frustration and kicked the triple eight body some more. "FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!"

"Calm down Chloe! This won't get us anywhere!" The man snapped. Chloe calmed down, and the two loaded the dead triple eight into the back of the van. "So I'm guessing you actually installed that that shock mod into your shotgun?" The man then spoke up a second later.

"Yeah, but it completely destroyed it though." She answered. Chloe then looked back at the triple eight body. "Do we have enough thermite for this thing anyway?"

"Sadly no. We are gonna have to bury it until we can get ahold of more." The stated truthfully.

"Do we know who took our money and guns anyway?" Chloe asked.

"I may have a slight clue but we can't do anything about it." The man explained.

"Why not? If you know who stole them, then we can just get them back. easy peasy." Chloe persisted. She saw that her male companion was ignoring her. "Derek are you gonna answer me or just sit there like a machine?"

"We can't because John Connor has them now!" Derek barked at Chloe. He hated the way she was always so straightforward with everything. It was annoying to him. Chloe backed off and walked to the front of the van and got in the passenger side.

Derek closed the back doors of the van and walked to the front and got into the driver's side. With that, they both drove off, away from the scene. But what they failed to notice, was a black SUV that was tailing them from a distance.

•••

 ** _Author's Note: This chapter was fairly interesting for me to write. I kept a lot of the same elements from episode two but switched them up a bit, because we all know what Sarah and Cameron were up to that whole time. So why not give John and Alex a bit of glory? It would be an interesting plot element to write, considering Alex has a knack for getting into trouble._**

 ** _So what did you think of how I brought back Derek Reese? I was always gonna add him. But I had no idea on how I was going to bring him back considering I killed him back in "Terminator: The Allison Young Chronicles" and had to find some way to resurrect him. But that will be explained further in the story so keep reading to find out. And who exactly is Chloe?_**

 ** _Reviews are appreciated!_**


	6. Chapter 6

**_I know a lot of you have been disappointed with Cameron not being involved as much in the story lately, so this chapter we'll definitely have more of her and John moments._**

 ** _Another update on the Walking Dead crossover! I did some thinking and if I had the two stories connected, I wouldn't have much freedom in this story. So no "The Walking Dead: Termination" and "No Fate But What We Make" are not connected. The only connection they have is my original character; Alex Mathews._**

 **Terminator: No Fate But What We Make**

 **Chapter 6**

 ** _Los Angeles California, September 17, 2007 (Connor Residence)_**

 ** _7:46 am_**

It was a beautiful Monday morning. There were no clouds in the sky, and the sun had just come up over the mountains. Everybody was living their normal lives. Go to work. Go to school. But most people are foolish enough to think that it will last. That the lives they have will last. Everybody takes what they have for granted and they don't realize that they will someday lose it.

John walked into his mother's room holding a cup of coffee. It was something that he rarely done for his mother, so why not do it once in awhile? "Morning Mom," John coughed, gaining her attention.

"Oh, morning John," Sarah replied very groggily.

"You look like hell," John chuckled, and sat on her bed.

"I was up late," Sarah simply answered, and took a sip of her coffee.

"What do we got anyway?" John asked, motioning the photos with his index finger.

"Newspaper clippings, surveillance photos, bank records, pamphlets from every high-tech company in the state. Even thought I saw the deeds to city hall in here somewhere," Sarah explained. "Those Resistance guys weren't sent back to be our support crew. They're a Skynet hunting party."

"Really, are you sure?" John asked. Surprisingly, he was shocked that those Resistance fighters had another mission.

"Most of this is still a puzzle to me, but there is one list in here I understand," Sarah grabbed a sheet of paper and handed it to John. "Employee list, Cyberdyne systems. Seems like they thought it was a good place to start, and it is."

John handed her back the paper. He knew who his mother was gonna go talk to. "She's not gonna be happy to see you."

"She never is," Sarah said sadly. They were referring to Teresia Dyson.

"You want me to come along?" John asked hopefully. Barely the first day and now he wants to get out of school.

Sarah looked back down at the sheet of paper. "No, you have your own job to do. A big one-"

Sarah stops mid sentence when she hears small footsteps. Her and John jolt their heads towards the doorway and see Cameron stalking by, wearing nothing but purple and pink underwear. Sarah looked back at her son and saw the redness in his face.

 _Definitely having a talk with Tin Miss later._

"Cameron!" Alex's voice called out. "That's my underwear, give it back!" Alex shouted at the cyborg as she walked across the doorway.

"Those two are a handful aren't they," John sighed heavily. His face was still red from Cameron walking by, but made up for that when Alex came by shouting insults comically at her.

•••

John finishes getting ready for school today, and walks into the kitchen where he sees Cameron standing at the kitchen counter, putting eyeliner on. "You're getting pretty good at that."

"Thank you," Cameron responded, not taking her eyes off of- well John didn't know what she was exactly staring at. John reached for his cereal bowl that was in the dish rack, only to find it not there. He then turned his head towards the counter to find the milk, and Cereal, but no bowl.

"Have you seen my bowl?" John asked Cameron. She was about to answer when Alex walked into the kitchen with a bowl of cereal in her hand. His bowl of cereal.

"Alex has it," Cameron stated the obvious.

"Yeah I see that," John glared at Alex who was still eating corn flakes right in front of him.

"Hey, no one told me that this was their special bowl," Alex pointed out, and took another spoonful into her mouth.

John decided to skip breakfast since Alex had took the only bowl in the house, and was eating from it, right in front of him.

John and Cameron continue to pack their school bags for their first day of school, when Sarah walks into the kitchen. "Much better."

Cameron tilted her head in confusion.

"When you wear clothes. Much better," Sarah clarified. Cameron returned her head back to her upright position and slung her bag over her shoulders. "So did you get your underwear back?" Sarah sarcastically asked Alex.

"I did," Alex nodded. "But let me tell you, it's very difficult to take underwear from a cyborg."

"Noted," Sarah replied, and placed a piece of paper on the table.

"Wait, so what? Cameron's walking around in full commando?" John mockingly asked.

"Commando?" Cameron tilted her head again. "I'm not a soldier that is specially trained to carry out raids," Cameron deadpanned at John.

"No Cam, it means-" John didn't really want to say it, but he did put himself in this awkward situation so he had to suck it up. "It means that you're not wearing underwear."

Cameron returned her head back upright. "Oh. Thank you for explaining," She nodded in acceptance.

Sarah rolled her eyes so far, she was surprised her retinas didn't snap. "Okay, six ways in, six ways out-" Sarah motioned at the paper on the table.

"And that's my cue to leave," Alex cut her off and turned to walk out of the kitchen, only to have Sarah grab her by the arm.

"You ain't going anywhere. You need to study this." Sarah spoke sternly.

"Why? I'm not going to school." Alex argued.

"Really?" Sarah mused. "That's not what Tin Miss said?" Sarah looked at Cameron.

"That's ridiculous, Cameron… would never…" Alex stopped and turned her head to Cameron who was staring at her. Realization suddenly hit Alex like a semi-truck. "You bitch," She whispers. "You actually got me a job as a nurse didn't you!?" Alex snapped at the cyborg in anger.

"I informed you last night," Cameron stated matter of factly.

"I was asleep!" Alex shouted in complete frustration. So far from what Cameron had done to her, she was pretty sure this took the cake.

"But you were talking to me?" Cameron persisted.

"That's called sleep talking you idiot!" Alex ranted. For an artificial intelligence, this one is dumber than a bag of rocks. "I don't have anything to wear anyway so guess I'm not going," Alex turned once again to leave.

"I bought you scrubs," Cameron informed Alex.

Cameron disappeared into the living room before returning several seconds later, holding a plastic bag. She handed them to Alex, which she snatched them from Cameron's grasp and looked inside. Sure enough, there were several pairs of scrubs ranging from a simple light blue, to even purple.

 _Cameron definitely picked these out,_ Alex thought, referring to the purple scrubs.

"You better get ready, school starts in forty minutes," John mockingly said to Alex, in which he received a terminator like glare from her before she stomped out of the kitchen.

"Anyway, as I was saying," Sarah said, getting right back on topic. "The front door opens to the street here," She pointed at a section of the sheet of paper. "Security's minimal. Two armed guards in the morning, four in the afternoon, and if anything goes wrong, there's a parking lot here," Sarah finished.

"Mom, it's high school, okay? Not supermax. We can handle it," John reassured his mother. "Plus I'll have two cyborgs watching my back. How much protection do I need?" John then added and gave his mother a kiss on the head before walking to the door to grab his bag.

"We can handle it," Cameron repeated what John had just said moments ago.

Sarah just nodded, pondering on what she just said, realizing that she's probably mimicking John again. "Don't you kiss me."

Cameron tilted her head to the side again, and returned it upright. She then turned on her heels and walked to the door, where John was waiting for her. John walks outside with Cameron following closely behind, and closing the door behind them.

Once outside, John and Cameron walk down the street, down to the bus stop. "John?" Cameron tugged on his jacket sleeve.

"Yeah Cameron?"

"Yes."

"Yes what?"

"I'm going commando."

John stopped dead in his tracks, trying to process what she just said. "What!?"

 ** _Los Angeles California, September 17, 2007_**

 ** _8:05 am_**

Eight years and now FBI Agent James Ellison had found something. He had come across four incidents that had the same blood present at the scene. Blood that had no red cells present.

The first was found in an abandoned apartment building where four people were found dead. The second was found in Ellison's contact Enrique Salzia's apartment, across from his body. The third was found several blocks away from the abandoned apartment in the windshield of a family's vehicle.

Then there was the last one. One that Ellison could have sworn he had seen before. Something that was familiar to him. Ellison managed to get ahold of some of the security tapes from Valley Square Mall here in L.A. that had shown something very familiar.

Ellison watched the video footage from his television inside his office at what appeared to be two females getting into a brawl. Ellison watched as the blonde woman had thrown the brunette female down the hallway with one hand. He witnessed the blonde woman morph her hand into something peculiar. He didn't know what it was but it didn't seem too safe.

Ellison continued to watch the events unfold on the screen. He saw as the brunette had kicked the legs out from under the blonde, which brought her to the ground. The brunette then got up off the floor and grabbed the blonde by the shirt and tossed her like a battering ram, into a soda machine that wasn't too far away. It was the same soda machine that he had found destroyed, and where he had found the unusual blood at. The same type of blood that had been found at all three other crime scenes.

And that hand. That hand proved something else. Whatever these two were, they weren't human. Ellison opened up his desk drawer in which he hadn't cleaned in years and pulled out an old shoe box. He then opened it, revealing an old dusty VHS tape inside. He had hidden it from the bureau because he didn't know what their reactions would be. He wasn't sure if they'd believe it. Hell he didn't know if he could believe it whether or not.

Ellison placed the old dusty tape into the very outdated television in his office and rewatched the old security footage from New Mexico. Surly enough, it was basically the same thing. Ellison could even tell that it was the same females fighting yet again.

 _Knock, knock, knock_

James Ellison jolted his head up from the TV, to see a man standing in his doorway with him carrying several documents.

FBI Agent Aldridge.

"Hey Ellison!" Aldridge greeted and walked into his office. "Got another case that you need to see," He then said, and placed the documents on Ellison's desk.

"Look Aldridge, I have my hands pretty full right now, can you just give it to someone else?" Ellison asked, not taking his eyes away from the television.

"Trust me you'll want to see what's in this report," Aldridge persisted. He picked up the documents from Ellison's desk and started to read what was written inside. "Hear this. Naked man attacks vagrant, and is saved by unknown female."

This seemed to gain Ellison's attention because he got up off his chair and walked around his desk. "Let me see this," Ellison said curiously and grabbed the folder from Aldridge's grasp.

"Knew you'd come around," Aldridge patted Ellison on the shoulders. He was about to turn to leave, but had an itchy feeling to see what Ellison was exactly watching on the television. Aldridge peeks his head over the desk, only to find a blank blue screen.

The tape was ejected.

"What were you watching anyway?" Aldridge asked Ellison with curiosity.

"Just looking through an old case," Ellison simply replied.

Aldridge nodded in acceptance. He was still curious to what he was watching and wanted to find out what it was. "Alright then, I won't keep you James," Aldridge said and walked out of the office.

Ellison continued to look through the documents. This stuff intrigued him very highly. He was already following four cases that were loosely connected and this was the fifth. One thing was for sure though. Ellison was walking into something that would change his life forever.

What Ellison didn't notice however, was that the tape was missing from the VCR port.

 ** _Los Angeles California, September 17, 2007: (Campo de Cahuenga High School)_**

 ** _8:24 am_**

Once off the bus, John, and Cameron walked across campus, to the main entrance of the high school. "Okay, now blend in."

"Blend in." Cameron repeated John's words.

"Yeah, I mean don't seem like a freak," John tried explaining. "You know what I mean right?"

"Freak, weirdo, kook, oddball, crackpot, strange duck, queer potato. Nut," Cameron started listing all the terms for freak. "I've been reading the dictionary. I don't sleep."

John rolled his eyes. How is she supposed to be this infiltrator if she can't seem like a normal person? "Yeah you see, that's what I'm talking about. You do that, you sound like a freak," John then explained. He gazed to his right towards Cameron and noticed the way she was walking. "And don't walk around like my bodyguard, you're supposed to be my sister. You won't fool anyone."

John and Cameron stopped at a huge line that was stretching inside of the front entrance and slowly waited to enter inside. "I fooled you," Cameron added.

Once inside, John and Cameron saw in front of them, two metal detectors, with the two security guards standing next to them.

"Cell phones, hats, rings, and bling. Take it off and put it in the basket," One security guard ordered the teenagers. "Cell phones, hats, rings, and bling in the basket. In the basket people, come on," The guard repeated over and over again.

John and Cameron did as they were told and removed anything that had metal from their person and placed it in the basket. John was the first to walk through the metal detector, and surely enough he was good. John started to grab his stuff from the bin, while Cameron now walked through the metal detector.

The metal detector went off, with a loud beep.

"Again with you missy," The security guard motioned for her to step back through the detector. Cameron did as she was told and walked through once again with the same result.

John sighed heavily. He had maybe just an inch of hope that maybe her endoskeleton was advanced enough to sneak past metal detectors. He was wrong.

John had to do something, otherwise the security guards wouldn't let her through, or even worse. Call the police. John stepped up to the security guard ready to defend Cameron. "Excuse me, this is my sister."

"Extra credit for you," The guard replied sarcastically.

That worked well, John thought. Suddenly. And idea popped into John's head. "Look, she's got a metal plate in her head. Really it's a big one."

The security guard waved around his small metal detector around Cameron's forehead, and surely enough, the detector went off.

"I fell. Hard," Cameron lied convincingly to the guard. The guard nodded and motioned them to continue on.

Once away from the guards, John grabs Cameron by the wrist, stopping her in her tracks.

"We should warn Alex about the metal detectors," John suggested.

"Why?" Cameron asked, tilting her head.

"Because she would have to go through the same process you just went through," John explained and pulled out his pre-paid cell phone from his hoodie. He pulled up Alex's number on the device and hit enter. John then put the phone up to his ear where there was a short ring going on before someone answered.

" _Hello?"_ Alex said over the line.

"Hey its John, I just called to let you know that there are metal detectors at the front entrance of the school," John described what he and Cameron's encountered just moments ago.

•••

Alex was currently sitting in a chair inside an office of the high school. She had to come up with an excuse like Cameron just so she could enter the building without fighting the security.

 _Guess they don't believe the same story twice._

The door opened behind Alex, revealing a man who is his mid forties, with black hair, and was wearing a business suit.

"Morning Miss Baum, glad to finally meet you. I'm Principal Rodriguez," The man greeted with a smile, as he walked over to his desk. Alex got up from her seat and gave the man a handshake before letting go, and sitting back down. "So when I talked to you on the phone, you told me that you've had medical training in the military?"

"Uhh- I did…?" Alex replied unsure. _Cameron is so gonna get it later!_

"And I also understand that you have two younger siblings that are also enrolled here as well?" The man asked, knowing the answer.

Alex just nodded in agreement. She didn't want to be an aunt again so she convinced Sarah to be John and Cameron's "Older sister."

"So I have another question Miss Baum. How's your temper?" The principal inquired.

"My temper?" Alex asked in confusion. _Since when does someone ask me about my temper?_

"The kids here can be… let's say difficult sometimes, especially in your line of work," The principal explained simply.

Alex didn't reply. Instead she was trying to get around this wordplay.

"Some of the children will annoy you on purpose," The principal clarified. Alex understood and nodded in acceptance.

"I have an alright temper I guess. I was in the military after all," Alex repeated. It wasn't a total lie either. She did spend most of her life fighting with the Resistance.

"Everything here checks out here Miss Baum," The man said, closing the document folder. "Welcome to Campo de Cahuenga High School."

"Thank you principal Rodriguez," Alex smiled and shook the principal's hand. "So where is the nurse's office anyway?"

"Right this way," Principal Rodriguez motioned for Alex to follow. Alex did so and the two walk out of the office and into the hallways.

 ** _Mojave Desert, September 17, 2007_**

 ** _10:17_**

Veronica had followed the two Resistance fighters for several miles, until arriving in the middle of the Mojave desert. She sat idly by in her Vehicle as she watched the two Resistance fighters leave. They had no means of destroying it so they hid it for later disposal. After a couple of minutes, she got out of the vehicle and began stalking towards the area where they had buried the machine.

They didn't do a very good job.

Veronica didn't bother using a shovel and began to dig with her bare hands.

After several hours, Veronica had finally dug up the lifeless Terminator body. It was fully intact and would serve as extra parts if she needed further repairs.

Veronica slung the hulking machine over her shoulders and carried it all the way back to her black SUV and placed it in the back. She then grabbed a blue tarp from the stow and go, and placed it on the body. Veronica dusted herself off, to avoid dusting up the vehicle and took off the leather jacket. As well as the cargo pants she was wearing.

She dressed prepared to battle the machine, but instead someone did it for her. But nonetheless she was very dirty and she couldn't take the body back to her apartment. Especially since it was daylight out and she had a very nosy neighbor.

 _Why not dismantle it here?_ Veronica thought. _It would be easier and less mess back home._

After dusting off her clothes, she slipped her cargo pants back on, and drove the SUV back to the freshly dug hole.

Veronica pulled out a bowie knife from her duffle bag and then proceeds to cut the flesh off of the Terminator and drop them into the hole behind her. After several more hours, she had finally removed all the skin. And dismantled every part of the Terminator.

She had all the parts needed for her repairs and decided was now the time to leave. Veronica didn't bother covering the hole that contained the artificial skin sheath and drove away from the scene.

 ** _Los Angeles California, September 17, 2007: (Campo de Cahuenga High School)_**

 ** _12:16 pm_**

Class went relatively well for John, besides Cameron purposefully getting transferred into all of his classes. It was annoying but trying to tell her to back off was pointless.

Now John and Cameron were sitting at a table, outside of the school. John was eating today's lunch special: Tacos. _They were fairly dry but beggars can't be choosers. Besides, this is probably the best meal you could get after Judgment Day._

Cameron was sitting across from him with a stiff straight posture that nobody else would have. It made her look more like a _freak_. Especially since she constantly scanned the area for any threats.

"Cameron would you please just calm down. Nobody is looking for me," John tried reasoning.

"There is always someone looking for you John. Besides, I am calm. I'm never stressed to begin with," Cameron stated. John rolled his eyes.

 _Has to be Cameron over complicating stuff._

"I mean, stop constantly looking around like you're paranoid, and slouch a bit. No one here has a straight posture. Even the teachers don't," John explained.

Cameron complied and slouched down a bit and moved her arms on the table. John thought that all was good until she spoke up again.

"I don't get paranoid," She whispered.

John palmed his face in annoyance, wishing that Alex was here. Or better yet, Cherie Westin. The beautiful blonde in his chemistry class.

Cameron could tell that he was lost in his thoughts, and wondered what he was thinking. "What are you thinking?" She asked.

"Huh? Oh nothing," John lied and took another bite out of his taco. Cameron tilted her head slightly, knowing he was in fact lying. _I can tell by the change of his voice and his expression. I know John is thinking about something and I'm gonna-_

"Hey John," A blonde girl greeted as she walked by.

"Oh, hi Cherie," John blushed. "Wanna sit?" He then asked.

"Uhh I can't right now. I have tons of English homework I need to start or I'll be overwhelmed tonight. Maybe tomorrow?" Cherie explained.

"Oh okay. It's cool, tomorrow sounds good," John said with a hint of sadness.

 _This seemed to upset John. Maybe she was who he was thinking about? I should try and lighten his mood._

"John do you-" Cameron spoke up but is interrupted when John got up from his seat and rushed off towards the direction Cherie was walking in.

Cameron was about to give chase after John and follow him, but is distracted. Yes distracted. She saw two teenager's staring at her, and whispering one another. Cameron tried turning up her audio sensors, but they stopped talking when they noticed she was staring back at them.

Cameron concluded that the two were threats to John and needed to be dealt with. Cameron got up off her seat and maneuvered around the table and started stalking towards the two teenage boys.

Before Cameron could reach them, Alex stands in front of Cameron, blocking her from her path.

"Hey Cameron, can I speak to you for a moment?" Alex asked the cyborg.

Cameron gazed right behind Alex's shoulder, only to find that the two teenage boys gone.

 _They must have been spooked._

Cameron nodded and sat back at the same table where she and John were sitting in. "Talk," Cameron demanded.

"Okay little Miss stuck up," Alex said sarcastically. "What were you about to do to those two boys?" She then asked.

"They could be possible threats. They were acting suspicious. I wanted to be sure," Cameron deadpanned.

 _What did John ever see in this machine?_ "Okay, well you can't be doing that stuff here on school grounds where everyone is a witness and they happen to have phones with cameras!" Alex quietly snapped at Cameron.

Cameron didn't respond, instead she just stared down at the table, apparently finding an interest in the uncleanness of the table top.

 _God I swear this cyborg is a drama queen._ "Cameron, you still have a lot to learn. There was a reason why John put you in my hands," Alex started explaining.

Cameron rose her head.

She remembered several weeks back when John; future John sent them back. The message that he gave them. "Look you have to be more open to me and John. Let us teach you. We can't do that if you contradict our every word or action."

"But how am I supposed to understand if I don't know? That's not very logical," Cameron argued.

Alex slapped her forehead in annoyance.

"You shouldn't be inflict-"

"Physical harm on myself, I know!" Alex snapped in annoyingly. "You know what, I don't have time for this, I need to get back to my post before principal Rodriguez chews me out," Alex then said, and got up from her seat, walking away from Cameron.

Cameron spent the rest of lunch, sitting on the same table, alone. It didn't bother her that she didn't have anyone to talk to. In fact, she never got bored whatsoever. She could stand in the same spot for twenty years and not feel inclined to move or do anything, unless it was a threat that is.

•••

The rest of the day went rather well. John, Cameron, and Alex returned home, where Sarah greeted them.

"So how was your first day?" Sarah asked the trio as they walked through the door.

"I have a metal plate in my head," Cameron stated and walked out of the room.

Sarah looked at John who was leaning over the counter. "She's gonna need a note."

"Yeah same here, I had to use the same excuse," Alex spoke up.

"Not her or you," Sarah clarified. "How was your first day of school John?"

"It was alright," John said simply.

Sarah furrowed her eyebrow. "That's it? Your not gonna give me anything?" She asked her son.

John opened the refrigerator "We went, we learned. I didn't get killed and she didn't kill anyone. It's a pretty good first day I think," John explained, while digging through the fridge. "What about you? Did you go?"

"I did," Sarah sighed.

"How was she? Surprised you weren't dead?" John asked.

"More like disappointed," Sarah answered.

"That makes two of us," Alex mumbled to herself. John and Sarah look in her direction, completely forgetting she was still there.

"Anyway, she Id'd one of the safehouse photos," Sarah continued. "Intern at Cyberdyne."

"Really? So what does he do? Work in a lab or build rocket guidance systems or something?" John mockingly asked.

Sarah sighed, knowing John is gonna probably burst out in laughter. "Cell phone salesman."

"Shut up," John tried to suppress a laugh.

"Cell phone salesman, and not a very good one," Sarah finished.

"These need to be cleaned," Cameron butted in the conversation holding a variety of the weapons from the safehouse. Sarah took the towel from behind her and draped it around Cameron's shoulder, motioning at the table where Alex was sitting at.

As Cameron strolls away, to the table, John spoke up again. "Okay, so about the cell-phone guy-"

"-I'm having dinner with him tonight."

"Dinner? You mean like a date?"

"Not a date."

"Are you going to kill him?" Cameron asked.

"Kill him? I don't know the first thing about him. He interned at Cyberdyne in college. His photo is in a pile of photos," Sarah said, trying to get through that metal skull of hers.

No response.

Sarah remembered when Cameron had merciless killed Enrique. A good friend that may or may not have been telling the truth. She had to set some rules or more people would die. "Nobody dies till I say so," Sarah spoke sternly.

Cameron just stared at the elder Connor.

Sarah then looked at John, hoping that he could get through her. "Tell her."

John turned his head, about to speak when Cameron suddenly says something. "People die all the time. They won't wait for her," John bowed his head. There it was again. That machine logic. "I fooled you again." Cameron then said, with an emotionless expression.

"Creepy," Alex sing songed, referring to the way Cameron said things.

John just chuckled. It was Cameron's attempt at making a joke. It needed work but still.

 ** _Los Angeles California, September 17, 2007: (Apartment)_**

After hours of driving back, Veronica had finally arrived at her apartment. Luckily Nick was still at work so she had no issue sneaking the parts inside.

Once inside, Veronica set the parts on her counter and grabbed one part in particular. A right optical sensor. Finally after eight years of idly searching, she had finally found one. She would have to modify it however to meet the qualifications needed for the sensor. It was inferior to the technology that her optic was made from, because her HUD displayed things in full color, and the targeting systems that she uses to activate her plasma cannon.

She wasn't done yet. Veronica needed to acquire the tech to be able to modify it. Veronica made her way to her the table where her desktop computer was sitting on. She booted it up and pulled up a search browser, and typed in the most cliché thing that anyone would do if they were looking to buy something cheaper than the original price.

Craigslist.

Veronica typed in "Graphic Enhancers" into the search bar and came up with a long list of pc gaming motherboards. They weren't exactly what she needed, but if they were what they say they were, them she could make it work. Veronica messaged the person selling the motherboard and scheduled a time and place where they could meet.

She was determined to become whole again so she could fulfill her mission. One that she has put on hold because of her mistake. One thing was for sure. If the person selling that motherboard scammed her, they wouldn't live to see another day.

•••

 ** _Author's Note: A rather boring chapter, but I have to admit I did laugh a bit when writing this. There was no Derek this chapter but at least we got a little more Cameron than normal._**

 ** _Reviews are appreciated!_**


	7. Chapter 7

**Terminator: No Fate But What We Make**

 **Chapter 7**

 ** _Crystal Peak, June 5, 2027: Resistance Base_**

 ** _8:07 pm_**

Alex walked through the hallways of the Crystal Peak Resistance base. She hadn't talked to John in days since he decided to disown Allison and Martin to fend for themselves.

She hated him for that.

Alex stopped walking and entered the medbay of the base, where she saw Chief Medic; Amy Williams, working on a soldier plasma burn on his arm. It was only a graze but still nasty looking.

"Hello Alex, I was actually going to go find you." Williams said, not taking her eyes off the soldiers wound.

"Do you need any help?" Alex asked hopefully. _It would beat, roaming the halls like a zombie._

"Thank you but I have it handled. Thanks to John reprogramming all those Terminators, I have been having to treat less soldiers." Williams explained.

"Still don't trust them though," The soldier sarcastically replied. "Ow! What the hell doc?"

Williams just chuckled. "Don't move so much then Commander." After a moment, the soldier's arm was patched up and was free to get back to his post. "There you go Walker, and word of advice, try not to get shot again."

"Will do ma'am." The soldier mockingly saluted and walked out of the medbay.

"Have you talked to John lately?" Alex then asked Williams who was cleaning some of her medical supplies.

Williams nodded. "I have. Still sad that Allison is gone." She said sadly.

"Well did you also hear he just decided to abandon her?" Alex informed, crossing her arms.

"He just believes she's dead Alex. He's mourning." Williams clarified. Alex ignored her and sat in the opposite chair from her with a pouting expression. "Oh cmon, you of all people should understand what he's going through." Williams persisted.

"I don't understand because I actually have faith that they are alive. I know they are! They have to be!" Alex exclaimed.

"If you say they are still alive then, you just have to have faith that they will return themselves." Williams tried reassuring Alex. She was on edge and needed to relax a bit.

 _Knock, knock, knock._

Alex and Williams jolt their heads to see John standing in the doorway. "Williams. I heard you wanted to speak- Hello Alex. Want are you doing here?"

"I was just leaving." Alex said with venom and turned to leave. It was a trick to make her talk to John and she fell into the trap. Before Alex could leave, Williams grabs her by the wrist and forces her to sit down.

"I swear you both act like children!" Williams snapped irritably. "Either you two make up or the machines are the last thing you'll have to worry about!" an infuriated Williams barked at the two. For the leader of humanity, he still acted like a child. And Alex was about the same age as her, yet was the same way.

The two were taken aback by Williams' outburst. She was usually calm, collected and very nice. Even most of the children around the base loved her.

"You two, sit." Williams ordered the General and Alex. They reluctantly took a seat next to each other, still not looking in their direction. "You two are supposed to be best friends right?" Alex and John hesitantly nodded. "Then why the hell, are you two acting like this towards one another?" The two just shrugged.

 _So far I'm getting nowhere._

"Look John. Alex. I'm no counselor nor am I a good listener, but the world is bad enough as it is with the machines at our throats everyday." Williams began, with the two listening intently. "We need to be able to rely on each other. To be able to put our faith in one another. How are we supposed to do that if you are gonna act immature?"

John and Alex sat there silently, taking in the doctor's words. She had a point. They had avoided each other for days on end, because of a disagreement.

John sighed. _Time to suck it up and be a man John Connor!_ "Alex, I'm sorry." He admitted.

"It's about damn time!" Alex spoke with a risen voice.

John was expecting more of a "I'm sorry too," but received something entirely different.

"I just apologized and that's your response?!" John rose his voice in anger. The two continued to shout at each other in insults that Williams was sure she never even heard before.

Williams just shook her head and buried her face in her hands. _Some leader this is._ "SHUT UP!" She shouted in annoyance. "I've had it with you two! If you don't wanna make up, fine! But don't bring it down on the rest of the base!" Williams snapped. She got up off her chair and stomped out of her room, slamming the door on the way out.

John and Alex sat there in awkward silence. Neither had spoken to each other, and someone was trying to mend their friendship back together. _Guess John Connor really does have friends,_ he thought.

"Guess it's pretty stupid to be arguing about this sorta thing huh?" John mumbled to himself specifically.

"Yeah, guess you do have a point." Alex agreed. "Maybe we should just stay out of each other's way. We have to focus on the real threat."

"Skynet." John nodded.

"Yes." Alex also nodded.

John got up from his chair and slowly started walking towards the door, before turning back to face Alex. "I'll see you around." He waved off and left the room.

"See you around General." Alex whispered to herself. _That worked out well._ Alex plopped back into the chair behind her and sat there alone.

 ** _Los Angeles, September 20, 2007: (Connor Residence)_**

 ** _8:56 pm_**

It had been a stressful week for John. First he had to deal with one of his school mates committing suicide right in front of him. He tried to save her, but Cameron held him back. He was angry with her for that. How was he supposed to save the entire human race if he couldn't save one person?

Then there was the history test in Mrs. Renfro's which he was pretty sure he bombed. The future was more what he was worried about, and not the past.

His mother had been dating one of the guys from the photos and ended up burning down his house, which he had to admit was fairly humorous for him. Not for the guy of course. However the man ended up being killed by some thug and was arrested for the murder.

Lastly there was the incident with Alex. John awoke early yesterday morning and walked into the bathroom to take a shower, only to find Alex using it. Later that day he had a talk with his mother about buying shower curtains.

John was currently sitting inside of his room, surfing the _Web_ on his brand new laptop. He had convinced his mother to let him buy it so he could search for leads on the _"Turk"_ that had turned up missing after Andy Goode's death.

"What are you doing?" Cameron, who was standing behind him spoke up.

"Oh Jeez!" John jumped out of chair. He turned to see Cameron stoically standing idly, watching him with curiosity. "How many times have I told you not to sneak up on me!" John fumed at the young cyborg.

"Three- four times." Cameron stated.

 _No use arguing with a cyborg,_ John thought. He was still angry with her about the whole "Jordan incident" and hadn't really talked to her since. "What do want anyway?" John then asked.

"Sarah wanted an update on the man who killed Andy Goode." Cameron informed John.

John annoyingly sat down back in his chair with his arms folded. "Tell her I'll be down in a moment to show her." John answered simply. Cameron nodded and reached her hand out, about to touch John's neck, when he stops her by grabbing her by the wrist. "And don't think I don't know what your doing when you do that!"

Cameron's eyes widened at John's outburst, and she slowly retracted her hand, returning it to her side, and stalking out of his room.

John sat there for a moment, trying to process what was up with Cameron. She had been too clingy towards him lately and would even watch him sleep most nights. Sure, she was John's protector and all, but he hated being watched while he slept.

John decided put aside these thoughts for now and grabbed his laptop to bring down stairs, so he could show his mother what he had found.

•••

"Uhh, thank god it's almost Saturday!" Alex ranted. She had a pretty tough week as well. Alex mostly dealt with kids that lied about their condition so they could go home, or a wounded jock that broke a limb during football practice.

Alex was confused as to why they would be sent to her so she could wait with them while an ambulance arrived, especially when she would snap the joint back together for them, so they wouldn't have to go through the unnecessary pain afterwards. Now Alex had a reputation for being too rough, hence nobody going to her with a sprained or broken body part ever again.

Sarah and Alex were currently standing in the kitchen with Sarah attempting to make homemade baked chicken, while Alex sat at dining table, eating a bowl of cereal.

 _Only two weeks and I know she's gonna overcook the chicken._

"Damn!" Sarah cursed as she opened the oven to find the chicken practically on fire, and the whole house engulfed in smoke.

 _Knew it._ "Good job Sarah." Alex mockingly applauded the elder Connor, between coughs.

"It's not as easy as it looks." Sarah said rather calmly, trying to smother the chicken with a blanket. "Guess we're gonna have to order pizza again." Sarah then added rather sadly.

"I'll get the number." Alex nodded, and walked into the living room to retrieve a phone book.

As Alex left, she past John who was walking down the stairs with his laptop in hand. "Hey John." Alex greeted.

"Hey," John returned greeting, and continued to walk into the kitchen. "Alright I found something on the guy who killed Andy." John informed and pulled up a mugshot of the man.

"Show me." Sarah motioned at the computer with her hand. At that moment, Alex and Cameron walked into the kitchen and joined the two in identifying the man.

"Okay, look. No name, but he's got this tattoo on his arm." John explained, then pulled up a picture of each tattoo.

Sarah took the time to study the picture and recognized the bar coded tattoo. "He's one of them." She pointed out. That was all the information that Sarah needed, and walked out of the kitchen, snatching the phone book from Alex's grasp.

"Hey!" Alex shouted, but is successfully ignored. _What is up with Sarah Connor always pushing my buttons?_

"Do any of you recognize him by any chance?" John asked the two cyborgs. Alex shook her head while Cameron took a moment to analyze the man, and see if he appeared somewhere in her database.

"No." Cameron then answered stoically. "The bar code indicates that he was a Skynet prisoner."

John mused. "So that means-"

"He's probably that fourth fighter from the safehouse." Alex finished.

"What do we do then?" John asked. He knew he was in custody of the police and was being held in a minimum security prison. There was no way of reaching him without drawing attention.

"It's too much of a risk to break him out. He shouldn't be our priority." Cameron stated opinionatedly.

"He's part of _our_ cause, therefore he should be a priority!" John argued the point some more. Cameron didn't respond to John's outburst.

Alex just stared at the two. She knew John was still angry with her after that poor girl committed suicide two days ago. He wanted to save her but was stopped by Cameron. Even if Alex sided with John that they should save lives, he would've drawn attention to himself for doing so.

"Look, it's getting late, I'm gonna go finish my _homework_." John then informed before stomping out of the kitchen. Cameron walked out the kitchen door, to do her night patrol, now leaving Alex alone in the kitchen.

 _I wonder if John noticed that he left his laptop?_

•••

John sat back down in his chair, in room again, at his desk, working on his homework. He hated Geometry, but it was something to take his mind off the week's events. _Why can't she just see things in a different way? Oh yeah, she's just a machine that is based on logic. Nothing more, nothing less._

 _Knock, knock, knock._

John rose his head to see Alex standing in the doorway, holding his laptop in her right hand. "You left this in the kitchen." She pointed out, holding the computer in the air.

"Thanks." John said with gritted teeth and focused back on his homework.

" _Okay_?" Alex said rather confused and placed the computer on his desk. "You need help?" She then asked, motioning at his textbook with her hand.

"I got it handled. Thanks though." John replied. Alex nodded and sat on his bed, staring at the ceiling, with an awkward silence looming around the room. John hand enough of Alex's poking around and decided to speak. "Okay, what do you want?" He asked, putting down his pencil, and turning his attention to Alex.

"Who said I want anything?" Alex asked confused.

"Because unless _you_ want something, you don't go into my room. _You_ usually either stay in your's and Cameron's room, or you're in the living room watching TV" John stated truthfully.

" _Fine._ " Alex admitted. "I was looking into investing in one of those video game consoles."

"Why?" John asked in curiosity. He never really got into stuff like video games, because he was too busy, with surviving, or being trained by his mother.

"I don't know. Back in the future, I found this intact game case with the disc inside and wondered what it would be like to play one." She explained simply.

John chuckled. _She wanted help convincing mom to let her buy one, knowing she would never accept, and tell her to focus on the mission._ "I'll try and talk to mom about getting you a console." John sighed.

"Thank you John!" Alex exclaimed happily and gave him a tight hug.

"Alex… you're squeezing… too tight." John struggled to say.

"Oh, sorry." Alex apologized and released the embrace. She then got up off the bed and walked towards the doorway, waving at John. "Goodnight. I'll see you in the morning."

With that, she left, leaving John alone once more. He put down his pencil, and thought more on the topic a bit. He never played video games before nor did he have an interest in them. Correction, he used to play them before his life became so complicated. But on the other hand, Alex's birthday was coming up in six days. If he could sell one of the diamonds he kept, he would probably have enough to buy her that video game console she wanted.

 ** _Los Angeles California, September 20, 2007 (L.A. County Detention Center)_**

 ** _9:00 pm_**

A lone female figure laid prone behind the brush, across the street from the "Los Angeles Detention Center" scoping the scene with a pair of binoculars. It was dark, with the only light source being the lamp posts and the cars passing by.

There was no way of getting inside without a ensuring a firefight and she wasn't exactly bulletproof. Chloe needed a plan. Derek Reese was being held for murdering some man. She had no idea what his intentions were, nor did she know why the man was so important that he had to die.

Now thanks to his recklessness, he got caught and wasn't gonna be leaving anytime soon. There was still the threat of the T-triple eight pursuing them and would probably kill him inside.

It was also a matter of time before the triple eight came for her. Even with her skills in engineering, she wasn't exactly fit to fight Terminators.

She only got lucky when she took down the hulking triple eight using her shotgun that had a self destruct feature that she installed. Unless she could repeat what the other triple eight did, she wasn't gonna survive much longer. She needed help, and there was only one person that could help.

Chloe got up from her position and walked down the hill. Back to her and Derek's white van, and hopped in the driver's seat. She pulled out a piece of paper from the sun visor and opened it. It was an address that Derek had written down for emergencies, and now was the time for that emergency.

Chloe turned the key in the ignition and drove away from the area, in pursuit of some help.

 ** _Los Angeles California, September 21, 2007 (FBI Headquarters)_**

 ** _1:21 am_**

FBI Agent Aldridge sat in his office inside of the "Federal Investigation Bureau" offices in Los Angeles. It was late. Most of everyone left for the night, only to return tomorrow.

Now was the perfect time to watch the video that he had "Borrowed" from his colleague; Agent Ellison. James was known around the whole Bureau for chasing the impossible. Ever since the Sarah Connor case was thrown under the bus, since she died in a bank explosion eight years ago, Ellison was always trying to prove that they somehow survived.

Aldridge grabbed the old VHS tape from his desk drawer and scanned the front. It read "Crestview High School: Southwest entrance" on the cover. Aldridge luckily had a VCR TV in his room, which made it convenient for him to play this tape.

Aldridge injected the tape into the TV and hit rewind. He waited for a minute, before a click could be heard, indicating that it had finished rewinding. The man hit the play button and watched the events unfold on the television.

•••

James Ellison laid in his bed, deep in slumber. It was almost two in the morning after all, and he needed his rest. Ellison was awoken from his sleep, when his home phone, right next to his night stand rang.

Ellison reluctantly turned to his side and grabbed the phone on the last ring. "Hello?" He said groggily.

" _James? It's Aldridge. I need to talk to you."_ The voice on the phone said.

James Ellison looked at the alarm clock next to his night stand and saw it was barely even two in the morning. "It's too early. Can't this wait?" Ellison asked the man over the phone.

There was a long silence before Aldridge spoke again. _"I suppose you're right. Can you meet me tomorrow morning at "Jodi's Cafénear Pershing Square?"_ Aldridge asked hopefully.

"Sure. I'll meet you there first thing in the morning." Ellison replied. "See you then."

" _See you then James. Sorry for bothering you."_ Aldridge apologized and hung up the phone.

Now that Ellison was awake he just laid there in his bed, curious about why FBI Agent Aldridge wanted to speak to him at such an early time as this one? Soon sleep had finally overcame the agent and fell back asleep within moments.

•••

Aldridge hung up the phone and just sat there. He stared at the screen with awe at what he had watched. It was an old tape, but what he saw was impossible. Nobody could have been shot three times and not feel anything. Anything! Aldridge was too awake, and his mind was racing a million miles per hour. He didn't want to sleep. He wanted to find the truth about this occurrence and James Ellison was the man to confront.

 _Well, if I'm gonna be staying up, better fill up on some coffee,_ Aldridge thought.

Aldridge got up off his chair, and walked out of his office, and down the quiet hallways of the building. As he neared the recreation room, he filled the pot with water and put the coffee beans into the dispenser.

As Aldridge waited, he continued to think further on the topic of what he was going to ask Ellison. How was he gonna explain to him that he took the tape, so he could look it over? How was he gonna describe what he saw? Shouldn't he have turned the tape into evidence instead of keeping it?

Aldridge had so many questions but very few answers.

 ** _Los Angeles California, September 21, 2007 (Connor Residence)_**

 ** _7:58 am_**

Sarah Connor was currently in backyard of the safehouse, doing pull ups on the swingset. She had a plan in mind. A very risky plan, but a plan. She was going to waltz right into the detention center and confront that Resistance fighter that killed Andy Goode. She wasn't going to tell either Alex, John, or Cameron because they would think she was being too reckless.

She couldn't have that.

Sarah jumped down from the swing set and turned on her heels, walking back into the house for some water. Once inside, she saw John and Alex yet again fighting over who gets the cereal bowl while Cameron idly stood by, arranging her book bag.

 _Note to self. Get more bowls._

"You got the bowl yesterday!" John shouted at the cyborg in anger. "Today I get it!"

"I have to consume more calories to be able to function properly so think I should get it!" Alex argued.

"Will you two shut up!" Sarah ordered in a strict tone, gaining the attention of the two, as they stared at Sarah in silence. "I'm tired of you two fighting over that stupid bowl!"

"She started it!" John accusingly pointed at Alex.

"John Connor! What did I just say!?" Sarah continued. "You two better stop acting like children!"

"Me? I'm acting like a child?" Alex took offence to this.

"Yes you are tin head!" Sarah persisted. "Every single goddamn morning you two are fighting over that stupid bowl and I am sick and tired of it!" Sarah then finished. She walked between them and grabbed the bowl and placed it right in front of Cameron. "Tin Miss can have it." She said with no room for arguments and stomped out of the kitchen infuriated.

Cameron just stared down at the bowl in confusion as to why Sarah gave her it. _To make a point maybe?_ "I don't eat." She said.

"We know!" John and Alex said in unison. The room was quiet for a long moment, until the two finally calmed down.

"It was kinda stupid to be fighting over a stupid bowl." John broke the silence, and chuckled a bit.

"Yeah I guess you're right." Alex sighed. "Guess we're taking this brother slash sister thing to extreme levels already." Both John and Alex lifted their heads to see Cameron now eating cereal from the bowl.

"What? Sarah gave me it." Cameron stated and took another bite. John looked at her in surprise. The only time he saw her eat was back at the gas station in New Mexico.

Cameron's head instantly jerked up a second later, as she set down the bowl and started stalking towards the door.

"What is it?" John asked in confusion.

"Someone is approaching the house." She said stoically and grabbed her Glock 17 from under the sofa. Alex peered out through the window and saw something that brought chills down her spine.

"Cameron! Get John upstairs now!" Alex commanded the young cyborg. Cameron nodded and grabbed him by the wrist, and led him upstairs. At that moment Sarah same rushing into the living room with two shotguns in hand and tossed one at Alex. She caught it and pumped it once to see if it was loaded. Once satisfied, she aimed at the doorway, prepared to fire. "What's going on?" Sarah asked also aiming at the door.

"We have company. The Terminator from New Mexico found us." Alex informed. Sarah just stared back at her for a brief moment before turning her attention back at the door.

The two waited in suspense, waiting for the Terminatrix to break down the door and start firing.

 _Ding Dong._

 _Well that was confusing,_ Alex thought. _Since when does a cyborg ring a doorbell?_

Alex slowly stalking to one end of the door, while Sarah stalked to the other side. Alex gave Sarah that "on the count of three, open the door" look and got ready.

Alex slowly counted down from three with her finger, while Sarah slowly reached for the door handle and slowly turned it. Suddenly, she swung the door open, with Alex grabbing the person at the door and throwing her inside.

Sarah quickly closes the door, with the two aiming down at the female figure on the ground. She showed signs of remaining calm even though her eyes betrayed her.

 _She was... scared?_

"Speak before I pump lead into that pretty face of yours!" Alex threatened and pumped the shotgun again for intimidation.

"Uhh." Was all the female could say, as she frantically looked at her surroundings.

"I suggest you speak now!" Sarah ordered. If this was apparently the Terminator that attacked John back in New Mexico, she was prepared to fight it.

"My name is Chloe." She introduced herself to the two. "I need your help."

•••

Everybody gathered inside the living room, and surrounded Chloe. Cameron was blocking John with her body, while Sarah and Alex had their shotguns aimed at the young girl.

"So… Chloe." Sarah mockingly said, and knelt down in front of her. "This one here," She motioned her head at Alex. "Says you are a Terminator. Is that true?"

Chloe just chuckled. "Guess you've met the model that was based off of me."

" _Based off of?_ " Everyone else asked in unison. They didn't know anything about this girl except she had her own Terminator model.

"What? You think Skynet just creates the faces out of thin air?" Chloe chuckled again. _These four are completely oblivious._

"You have thirty seconds to start talking or it gets ugly alright?" Sarah suggested.

"Okay fine." Chloe agreed. _Enough smart assness for now._ "I need your help breaking someone out of prison."

"That fourth Resistance fighter?" John asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah. How'd you know?" She asked surprised. The kid who was a couple of years younger than her was pretty smart.

"What does that make you anyway?" Sarah interjected. "There was only four Resistance fighters in that safehouse."

"Yeah?" Chloe rose her eyebrow and lifted up her right hoodie sleeve, revealing a similar barcode tattoo. "I'm the fifth."

Sarah, John, Alex, and Cameron looked at one another in confusion of what to do. This Resistance fighter needed their help. "How do we know we can trust you?" Sarah then asked the young Resistance fighter.

"You don't have to trust me Sarah Connor." Chloe announced. Everybody looked at her in surprise once more. If she was a spy or a Terminator; she would have already killed John or captured Sarah.

"Okay, you got our attention Chloe." Sarah sighed, lowering her shotgun. Cameron eased off of John, allowing him to actually take a look at the new arrival. Guess you could say that John had a thing for blondes because his jaw almost dropped to the floor when he took a look at her. Despite John being hunted by her Terminator look alike, he thought she was pretty cute.

"Good." Chloe smiled and started explaining. "I managed to hack a schedule and found that at four o'clock, they are transporting a John Doe to a FBI holding facility across the city."

"And this John Doe is your friend?" Alex confirmed. Chloe nodded and continued.

"So I was thinking we ambush the truck, subdue the security, and get him out." Chloe proposed her plan. Sarah mused on the topic. It seemed like a good plan simple plan, but they would need to do it on a less secluded street.

"Do you know it's route?" Alex asked the young girl.

"I do. And I found the perfect street to do so. We can wait and attack when they least expect it." Chloe smiled. She never got to put one of her plans into action in the future. Especially when Derek thought they were dumb.

"Guess we have our next mission everybody." Sarah reported to the rest of everyone. "You three better get to school." Sarah then mentioned.

"Wait what? Shouldn't we be here getting ready or something?" John argued. He wanted to do something fun and exciting besides sit in English class for two hours.

"Your going and that's final John. Too much attention is drawn if you're absent." Sarah spoke sternly. John reluctantly nodded and walked into the kitchen to grab his book bag.

"Wait. That's John Connor?" Chloe asked.

"Yes." Cameron deadpanned the young girl. She already didn't like her.

"Hmm." Chloe mused and turned her attention back to Sarah, and whispered into her ear. "She's a _machine_ isn't she?"

Sarah just nodded and smiled. For some reason she already liked this girl.

John walked back into the living room a moment later, with his hoodie on, and his book bag slung over his shoulder. "Alright mom." John gave her a kiss on the head. "We'll see you after school." He then added. The then trio walked out of the house, leaving only Sarah Connor, and Chloe.

"So… What should we do in the meantime?" Chloe asked the eldest Connor. It was interesting talking to someone who was a legend within the Resistance. But deep down she was just an average person who just so happens to hate metal as much as the next Resistance fighter.

 ** _Los Angeles California, September 21, 2007 (Jodi's Café)_**

 ** _8:12 am_**

FBI Agent Aldridge sat at a booth, inside of a café near Pershing Square park. He was anxiously tapping the table, waiting for his fellow colleague to arrive. He hadn't slept all night, and was functioning on only coffee at this point. He had so many questions and only James Ellison had the answers. Or at least a clue.

As if right on cue, James Ellison entered the café, greeting several people along the way. He looked down the aisle and saw Aldridge waving at the Agent, gaining his attention.

"Morning Aldridge." Ellison greeted as he sat down in the opposite booth. "You wanted to talk-"

"Morning sir, would you like anything to drink?" A young female interrupted.

"Um yeah coffee. Black." James told the waitress. The waitress wrote down the order and walked away, leaving the two to converse further.

"Anyway, you said you wanted to talk to me?" Ellison finished.

"I did." Aldridge agreed. "First I have to say I'm sorry. I took the tape from your office and I... watched it."

James sat back in surprise. He wondered how much he knew. How much he saw. "And what did you see?" He asked.

"Enough to agree with you that Sarah Connor wasn't just some nut who thought machines were hunting her." Aldridge elaborated. "Look man, I've been up all night trying to put two and two together. But I can't. It doesn't make sense."

"What do you want to know?" James asked cautiously. He was unsure if the Bureau was playing some sort of prank or this was legit.

"I want to bust this case just as much as you. All these reports you have on linked murders, synthetic blood, unrecognizable victims. _People_ who can be shot and not feel a thing." Aldridge proposed. "Together, me and you can solve this."

Ellison was quiet for a long moment, processing what he should say. Whether he should accept the man's proposal.

"Fine." James sighed. "I'll work with you."

"You won't regret it James." Aldridge said happily and shook the man's hand. "Now where should we start?"

 ** _Los Angeles California, September 21, 2007: (Campo de Cahuenga High School)_**

 ** _3:29 pm_**

Today, while John, Cameron and Alex were at school, Sarah and Chloe went to the detention center. Sarah needed answers for why he did what he did, only to find out if the man was worth saving. Turns out he was. Sarah found out the man's name. His name was Derek Reese. The brother of Kyle Reese and uncle to John. Her John. She wasn't sure how or even if she was going to tell him, but he was worth saving that much was certain.

Sarah and Chloe were currently sitting inside of a Jeep, outside of John's high school, waiting. Sarah just observed as the young girl marveled on as people exited the school.

"How old are you anyway?" Sarah asked, breaking the silence.

"Eighteen. Why?" Chloe asked, not taking her eyes away from the students.

"Maybe when we get your friend back, we can get you enrolled here. It would do you more good than always thinking about machines and the end of the world." Sarah explained.

Chloe pondered on the question a bit. _She did have a point_. "Maybe." Chloe took into consideration. She would have to lie about her age a bit, but she could see what it was like to be normal.

They both sat in silence again, as they watched John and Cameron stroll to the Jeep, with Alex following a moment later.

"You guys ready?" Sarah asked the three. They both nodded and squeezed in the back, with John in the middle and Alex and Cameron on the opposite sides. Sarah put the Jeep into gear and drove off campus in pursuit of their new mission.

•••

The street was quiet. No other vehicles drove along. It was a perfect place for an ambush. Derek Reese sat in the back of the convict transportation truck, fiddling around with the handcuffs. He always Imbedded a lock pick underneath his barcode tattoo, just for emergencies like this one.

He almost freed himself when suddenly, he heard a loud engine whirring outside. Then a loud thud on the right side where he was sitting at. Derek jolted away from the wall of the van, thinking the triple eight that was hunting him, had finally caught up with the soldier.

Derek awaited the fist that would smash through the metal, but it never came. Instead he heard glass breaking up front and the van halting immediately. He heard the similar voice that he heard just hours earlier and recognized who's it was.

 _Sarah Connor._

Derek opened the doors that led to the front, and stopped dead in his tracks when the door slid open, revealing a small petite teenage girl with brown hair and brown eyes. Her face and posture betrayed what she truly was, which Derek took immediate notice to. "Metal bitch!" He snarled and backed away from her.

"Relax, she's with us." Sarah spoke reassuringly, as she hopped in the driver's seat. Sarah started the van and looked out the side view mirror, only to see a T-triple eight bolting at their location with incredible speeds. Sarah handed Cameron her MP5 and spoke. "Take care of big boy" She ordered. Cameron nodded and pushed past Derek and into the back of the van. Derek closed the door behind him and sat in the passenger seat, next to Sarah.

"Punch it!" He barked. Sarah didn't like being ordered around but complied this time and stomped on the gas. With the van's tires screeching as it accelerated down the road.

The triple eight quickly caught up to the van that was speeding and jumped on the back. The triple eight ripped the door clean off and walked inside to find Cameron waiting for him.

Cameron takes the first blow and swings at his face, not doing much damage in the process. The triple eight grabs Cameron by the shoulders, and throws her from left to right inside the vehicle, with the van almost being knocked off course with the two cyborg's brawl being the cause of it.

Sarah didn't make it very far until she stopped the vehicle, and both her and Derek pile out. With the triple eight distracted by Cameron, they run to the Jeep where Alex, John and Chloe had just parked at, when they saw the van stop.

John was the first to say something as he ran up to his mother. "Where's Cameron?" He asked concerned, frantically looking around.

"Leave her, we gotta get outta here" Derek persisted and tried to move John with him.

Everybody jolted their heads to see Cameron thrown out of the van, and land on the ground, unmoving. The triple eight walked out, and got on top of Cameron, and started beating her some more which was unnecessary. John foolishly tried to rush to his cyborg protectors aid, but is stopped from doing so when Sarah and Derek hold him back.

Alex rushes past them and up to the triple eight, grabbing the machine from under the armpits. The triple eight however, headbutts Alex in the nose making her stumble back and fall to the ground. The triple eight was about to finish the job with Alex, when Sarah pulls out her Beretta from the waistband of her jeans and fires off four shots into the cyborgs chest.

The triple eight shrugs this off of course and picks up Cameron's Glock 17 and takes aim the four. Sarah quickly shielded herself in front of John, not wanting any harm to come to him.

The machine analyzed the two Resistance fighters and specifically took aim at Chloe's heart. The triple eight pulled the trigger with the bullet flying out of the chamber and into the young girls direction. But instead of it hitting Chloe, Derek jumped in front of her, and took the bullet himself.

The triple eight was going to fire off another round, until Cameron kicked his legs out from under him, with the machine falling to the ground. Cameron grabbed and ripped off the rear bumper from the van and started to beat the other machine with it repeatedly, until she wraps it around the cyborgs neck, disabling it from moving any further.

"Bring me the toolbox!" She shouted out behind her. John got free from his mother's grasp, and grabbed the toolbox from the back, then rushing up to Cameron. "Knife" She stoically ordered. John handed her the knife, which she then uses it to rip off the port cover of the triple eight. "Pires." She then asked. John gives her the red handled needle nose pliers, which she then uses to slowly, but methodically twist and pull out the chip, deactivating the T-triple eight. It was done. There mission was completed.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" Chloe exclaimed in worry.

 _Well, not yet._

John and Cameron turned their gaze to see Sarah and Chloe over Derek Reese who was bleeding a lot. "Your gonna be okay daddy! Just stay with me!" Chloe shouted at the soldier, with tears trailing down her face.

Sarah just looked up at the the girl. _Did she just say daddy?_

•••

 ** _Author's Note: This is probably my favorite chapter by far. Definitely was the most interesting one to write. It was much longer than my previous chapters, but I had to get the conclusion I wanted so here we are!_**

 ** _Big revelation with Chloe huh? I bet none of you expected her to be Derek's daughter, nor her looking exactly like the T-950 Model._**

 ** _Reviews are appreciated!_**


	8. Chapter 8

**Terminator: No Fate But What We Make**

 **Chapter 8**

 _ **Los Angeles California, September 21, 2007 (Connor Residence)**_

 _ **5:47 pm**_

 _On the night we first met, John's father; Kyle Reese, told me words I remember to this day. He meant them as a warning. I think of them as words to live by. He told me of an apocalypse yet to come. Like a Pandora's box, he unpacked every horror, every evil, every dark thing that haunts our future._

 _He also left me an unborn son, to whom he bequeathed what remained in the box after the nightmares fled: Hope._

 _Kyle never told me that he had a brother. Better yet he never told me he had a niece, that John would have a cousin. That we would have family._

Sarah Connor and Alex Mathews burst inside the house, carrying a badly injured Derek Reese over their shoulders. He had been shot in the side of the chest and was bleeding out fast. John, Cameron and a very worried Chloe followed them in soon after, closing the door behind them.

Sarah swiped all the contents that were on the counter, onto the floor, including the only cereal bowl, and eased Derek onto the table top. Everybody gathered around Derek, figuring out what to do. Cameron tried applying pressure to the wound but only to have Derek slap her hand away, and shout insults at the machine.

"Can you do anything?" Sarah asked Alex. Sarah knew that Alex had some form of medical training, hence her posing as a school nurse.

"I-I never did anything like this before!" Alex exclaimed in confusion. So much was happening at once. "I've only seen medics do this!"

Sarah glanced to her left and saw Chloe frantically walking back and forth, with John trying to calm her down as much as possible. Derek wasn't gonna last too long without proper medical attention. He would surely die without it.

"Chloe take my place!" Sarah ordered the young girl. Chloe jolted and rushed to Sarah, and started applying pressure to the wound.

Sarah ran out of the kitchen with a confused John following her. Sarah entered her room, grabbed a small rucksack under the bed, and pulled out a small taser.

"Mom!" John rose his voice. He was confused as to what she was doing this time. "A stun gun?" He inquired. "What are you doing!?"

"He won't last much longer without help. He needs a doctor!" Sarah argued. She was about to leave when her son suddenly blocked her path.

"So what? You're gonna go and kidnap one?"

"There's an ER a mile down the road."

"Mom this is crazy! Even for you!" John shouted in frustration. "You don't even know this guy!"

"He's your uncle!" Sarah exclaimed unintentionally. She wasn't planning on telling John just yet, but she needed for him to understand. "And that girl crying in there," Sarah pointed towards the kitchen. "Is your cousin."

"W-what?" John was taken aback by this revelation. He never knew he had family. His mother never even told him of any potential blood relatives.

"They don't know." Sarah explained simply.

John turned and ran out the room, and out the front door unexpectedly. "John!" She shouted, trying to gain his attention. But it was too late. He was gone. Sarah wanted to chase after him, but Derek needed all the help he could get.

•••

An hour went by after John had left. Sarah didn't know what he was exactly up to but she needed to trust him. He always had a reason. She taught him that. Sarah had taken Chloe's place. It was too much for the young girl. Even for someone who grew up in hell, they shouldn't have to see a loved one in this condition.

Out of nowhere, Derek's breathing stopped. One moment he was breathing steadily, and the next. Not. "Oh no," Alex tiredly said. "He's not breathing!" She then said louder. Alex tried giving the man Cpr, but was unsuccessful at doing so.

"Reese! Reese!" Sarah called out to the man, hoping her voice would be heard. That maybe he was still hearing and could correct himself.

Chloe ran up to the table, fearing the worst and finding Derek's eyes rolled to the back of his head, and his arms limp. "Daddy!"

Sarah pushed her back with one hand, and turned her attention to Cameron who was idly standing by. "Cameron get her out of here!" She ordered the cyborg. Cameron tilted her head to the right in her normal fashion, implying that she was confused. She didn't take orders from anyone but John. Future John. "Cameron!" She repeated.

Cameron flinched slightly and took ahold of Chloe by the shoulders and gently guided her out of the kitchen.

"Cmon Alex!" Alex ranted to herself. "Don't let anyone die on your watch!" Alex tried and tried again to give the man Cpr and push on his lungs to get them going again. She wasn't gonna give up that easily.

Luckily after about six tries, she managed to get him breathing again. Alex sighed in relief and rubbed the top of her forehead, with blood smearing across. She had saved Derek's life. For now.

As if right on cue. John bursted through the door with a familiar someone behind him. Sarah immediately recognized the man.

Charlie Dixon.

Charley stared at Sarah in disbelief for a moment, with her staring back at him.

"Hello? Are you gonna help or just stand there?" Alex sarcastically spoke, breaking the two from the stare down. Charlie ran up and took Sarah's place, and started to assess the wound.

"What's the cause of the wound?" Charlie asked no one in particular.

"Gunshot," Sarah answered. Charlie nodded in acceptance and continued to examine Derek.

"Bullet nicked his left lung. I got a fragment lodged in the tissue," Charlie informed. "I can get it out, but will someone tell me what the hell is going on here? Huh?"

"S-she's a machine!" Derek shouted deliriously at Cameron. He didn't trust metal whatsoever. Charlie looked at Cameron for a brief moment, not knowing what exactly he was ranting on about. "She's a liar, she's a liar!" He continued.

"Sedative in my bag!" Charlie asked in a commanding tone. John quickly grabbed a syringe from the bag, only to have Cameron snatch it from his hands.

"Everything she says is a lie, don't listen to her!" Derek continued to rant, with him moving more and more violently. If he moved anymore, it could have devastating consequences. Cameron neared Derek, with the syringe, ready to inject him with the sedative, until Derek started pushing everyone away. "Don't, don't, dont! Get that bitch away from me!"

Cameron didn't seem to register what Derek repeated over and over again. It took Charlie to grab her wrist and take the syringe away from her in order for her to understand. Sarah ordered Cameron to leave the room, implying that if she stayed, Derek would hurt himself more.

"What do you want me to do?" John asked. After finding out Derek was his his uncle, he wanted to help save his life. He had so much questions, and he wanted some answers to them.

"I need the manual aspirator to drain the lung, okay? It's in the back of my truck. Do you remember what it looks like?" Charlie asked John.

"Yeah I remember," John nodded, and ran out the front door yet again.

"Oh, my god. Gunshots, punctures, burns, some broken bones. Second grade medical treatment if anything at all. Sarah?" Charlie gazed at her. "I need more light." Sarah nodded and grabbed a lamp from. Behind the microwave and shined it above Derek. John returned a moment later carrying Charlie's bag, and placed in near the sink.

"John can I speak to you a moment?" Sarah asked John and walked out of the room with him in tow. They both stood in the hallway, while Alex and Charlie continued to work on Derek, and Cameron and Chloe in the living room.

"Yeah mom?" John asked. He was shaking nervously, due to all the adrenaline that coursed through his body from running to get Charlie.

Sarah looked past John's shoulders, seeing Chloe sitting on the sofa, with her staring at the wall in front of her. She was in shock. Her father was lying on the table in the next room, dying and she looked helpless. There was dry blood covering her hands, and her face. She needed some reassurance. Someone to talk to.

"Why don't you take Chloe upstairs and help her wash up." She then asked her son. John turned his head to see the young blonde stoically sitting on the couch. If he didn't already know, John would've thought she was the Terminator that was hunting him. But she wasn't. This girl was his cousin. His family. John turned to look at his mother again and nodded. With that, he walked away from Sarah and into the living room.

Sarah watched the two converse a bit, before John led her by the hand, up to the bathroom upstairs. Despite the situation at hand, Sarah thought it was heartwarming to see her son trying to spend time with his cousin. Even if Chloe didn't know it yet. She probably never would.

•••

John and Chloe were in the bathroom. Chloe didn't want to move, blink, or even breathe once she sat down on the edge of the bathtub. That led John to having to get a bucket of water with a sponge and clean her off himself.

John first washed her hands off, also scrubbing the dried blood from under the fingernails. John found it facinatinating that even for someone who grew up in post J-Day, she had relatively soft hands. There was some callus on her fingertips, but other than that they were as soft as a newborn. Some of her fingernails were cracked however. _Probably from the years of being unkempt,_ John thought.

After her hands were clean, he then soaked the sponge and started to wipe the blood away from her cheeks. Again John relished from the fact that she didn't show any signs of scarring.

The silence was too awkward for John though. He needed to break the silence. "So… Chloe," John spoke up. There was no response. She still was staring off into space.

 _Cmon Connor! How hard is it to talk to your cousin?_

"Chloe, you have to be strong for him." John then said. This seemed to have gotten her attention because she finally broke out of her stare and looked into John's eyes. "Would you want the same if it was you on the table?" Chloe sadly nodded her head. He had a point. "Then be strong for him."

Chloe gave John a sad smile before she took the sponge from his hands and started to wash up herself. John felt relieved, he never was the one to comfort others very well.

After what seemed forever, Cameron stood in the bathroom doorway with her face emotionless as usual. She had been silently watching the two converse.

Cameron had shedded her black jacket for some reason and was only in her tank top.

"How is he?" Chloe asked the cyborg.

"He's in stable condition for now. Charlie and Alex got the bullet out and gave him morphine to help the pain." Cameron explained to the two. Chloe sighed in relief and got up off her chair. She was about to leave, to check on her father, when Cameron spoke again. "However, he has lost a significant amount of blood. He requires a blood transfusion."

"And?" John asked.

"Charlie said, and I quote 'He needs three units of his own type; AB Negative. Bad news is, only one half of the population are potential donors.'" Cameron said in Charlie's voice. It made John and Chloe look at the cyborg weird.

"He's my father, maybe me and him have the same blood type?" Chloe suggested.

"No. Your blood type is A positive," Cameron responded truthfully. Chloe didn't know what was worse; the fact that she couldn't help her father in anyway whatsoever, or the fact that a machine knew her blood type.

"What about me? What's mine?" John spoke up.

Cameron walked up to him and rubbed her finger across his neck. "AB Negative."

Chloe's eyes widened. The machine in front if her stated that only one half of the population was a potential donor, and John Connor, future leader of the Resistance, was that one half.

John turned his head to look at Chloe, with her eyes pleading that he save her father. Actions spoke louder than words, because John pushed past Cameron and ran downstairs to aid Derek.

Chloe also pushed past the cyborg, and too ran downstairs. That only left Cameron. She stood in the doorway, staring down at where John and Chloe were sitting moments ago.

Cameron noticed something particular that was in the bathtub. It was small, and had a silver color. Cameron picked it up, revealing itself to be a heart shaped locket. Cameron curiously studied the small piece of jewelry and then opened the inside. It was blank however, there was nothing inside.

Cameron placed the locket in her cargo pants pocket, and stalked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

 _ **Los Angeles California, September 21, 2007 (Unknown Location)**_

 _ **6:27 pm**_

James Ellison got out of his company vehicle and walked up to the crime scene. A crime scene where a lone, beat up, prisoner transport van, laid in the middle of the road. The scene was blocked off, with the local PD vehicles, with police tape surrounding the area.

"What's going on here?" Ellison asked two police officers, who were questioning one of the transport van drivers.

"Two women attacked us, and when we woke up, the prisoner was gone." The driver explained. Ellison stood there deep in thought. Two women attacked and easily subdued two highly trained guards. It seemed all too familiar for the Agent.

"Did you get a good look at them?" James asked the driver. "Height, hair color, any specific facial details?"

The driver nodded. "The one who broke through the window appeared 5'6 or somewhere close to that stature. Both of their hair color was dark, but other than that I can't really remember details."

"Hmm hmm, we'll get a sketch artist to interview you and your partner." Ellison simply answered and walked off. He approached the heavily damaged truck that had several unidentified dents and even a hole of the left side. _Again, another all too familiar occurrence._

"Hello James," Aldridge greeted. He was present at the scene before James had arrived and had already investigated the whole truck. "Guess our friends were all over the place in here."

"Well if you actually take the time to observe Aldridge, you'd see that whatever was fighting in here, was of two different height and stature." Ellison corrected.

"So what're you saying Ellison? One of our mystery woman fought a much bigger one like herself?" Aldridge inquired in confusion.

"Do you remember the attack on a local police station back in 1983, and the destruction on Cyberdyne back in 1997?" Ellison asked. Aldridge nodded in response. "Both of those incidents had a large man at the scene, causing millions of dollars in property damage and it just so happened that Sarah Connor was present at both crime scenes-"

"- Then Sarah Connor's machine predictions could be true?" Aldridge finished. "You know we are getting into something we don't entirely understand yet right?"

Ellison nodded. "Yes, but the evidence and information we have leads us much closer to this investigation than anyone before."

Aldridge stood up, and pulled off his latex gloves. "How about you come over for dinner tonight? The old lady is making her signature meatloaf, and we can further lay out all the cards on the table."

"I'll take you up on that offer Aldridge. I'd be happy to join you." Ellison smiled. "Anyway, I have to get back to the office, and fill out some more paperwork."

"See you tonight at six then?" Aldridge asked.

"Yeah, six." Ellison confirmed.

"See you then Ellison." Aldridge shook the man's hand, and with that, Ellison walked out of the back of the prison transport van.

As Ellison walked back to his car, he noticed a tiny glimmer that was reflecting off of the setting sun. He walked up to shining object and knelt down to get a better look at what it was. What he saw brought both awe and fear to the man. It was a severed hand that had bits of metal showing underneath.

Ellison took a pair of black gloves from his suit pocket and slipped then on. He then picked up that hand gently and inspected it. He instantly knew it was no fake. This was no prosthetic hand or some kind of art project.

It was the hand of god.

 _ **Los Angeles California, September 22, 2007: (Connor Residence)**_

 _ **3:01 am**_

 _Yet another crazy day in the Connor Household. Charlie had fixed up Derek pretty well, with the help of Alex of course. Then Sarah had decided to tell Charlie the truth about the machines. He took it rather well, although he had a new found fear of Cameron. She had decided to leave out the bit with Alex also being one, just because she wasn't sure he could take the idea of a half human, half cyborg._

Now John was sleeping on the floor, in his room. He had given his bed up for Chloe, because Alex had Cameron's bed, while Derek recovered on the couch in the living room. John didn't mind really, he and Chloe were up for hours talking about hobbies and who's skill in computers was more superior.

John lost.

But now John couldn't sleep. His mind was racing a thousand miles per hour. He had just learned he had an uncle, and also a cousin. There were days where he had wished he had a real family, where it wasn't just him and his mother hiding in a house day and night,.waiting for the inevitable bombs to drop.

Now even though the house was more full of girls than guys at this point, John still felt happy that he had them. At least he had his uncle now somewhat level out the male dominance.

John still set dizzy from at the blood that he had given Derek. He needed some time to recover as well, to regain his strength.

John got up off the floor, from his sleeping back and slowly crept to the door where he opened it.

The hallway was dark. There was usually one or two lights on, because Alex had the tenancy to stay up late watching television. _Guess today took a toll on her,_ John thought. There was usually Cameron stalking about the house too, late at night but her footsteps weren't present.

John just shrugged that thought, thinking that maybe she was patrolling the block or something, and walked downstairs, into the kitchen.

Once in the kitchen, John turned on the light and opened the fridge. He pondered on what to actually take out; Water, or apple juice. He decided to go with the water and pulled out a water bottle. John took a swig and favored the cooling liquid as refreshing. Afterwards, he screwed back on the lid and was about to turn, when he saw Cameron standing right in front of him.

"Oh jeez!" John jumped surprise. For how many times she has snuck up on him, it never got old.

"Six times," Cameron stated, still staring back at John with a blank expression.

"What?" John asked, groggily rubbing his eyes, it was too late for wordplay.

"I thought _you_ were gonna ask how many times I snuck up on you." Cameron explained, John just nodded in agreement. John did however notice something on her neck. He set down his water bottle on the counter and curiously grabbed the object around her neck.

"Why are you wearing this?" John asked.

"I don't know. I found it," Cameron replied.

John opened the locket only to find a picture of him inside. In fact, it was a copy from his fake ID. "Uh huh, then why is there a picture of me inside of it?" John asked

"I found the locket and put a picture of you inside it," Cameron stated the obvious.

"I can see that, but why did you put a picture of me inside of it?" John persisted. Again, it was late and he was arguing with a cyborg.

"I don't know." Cameron repeated. John just rolled his eyes, knowing that she would probably never tell him.

John just turned on his heels and walked off, back to his room.

"It's my heart." Cameron muttered to herself. John stopped, barely even hearing what she said, but it was enough.

"Your heart?" John then asked.

Cameron was silent for a brief moment before she spoke again. "Yes, my heart. Sarah calls me Tin Miss, like the Tin Man from 'The Wizard of Oz,' published by L. Frank Baum in-"

"I get that, but why do you need one?" John persisted with asking. _Is she ever gonna tell me anything?_ "You know the ending of the story for the Tin Man right?"

"Yes, he had a heart all along." Cameron answered.

"Then why do you need a physical one if you're relating yourself with the story?" John continued.

"I… don't feel like I have one. I only have a nuclear fusion reactor instead of a physical heart. You could relate it to a physical heart in terms of how it powers my body, but It doesn't make me more human." Cameron responded. Her face still had a stoic expression, but her eyes seemed to have a slight glimmer. Something she never displayed before.

"So what're you saying?" John asked curiously. For some reason he had hope that she would say she had feelings. _She did say she was different from other machines back in New Mexico, so maybe she had emotions or something similar to that?_

"That this," Cameron pointed at the locket "Is my heart." She repeated.

John was at a loss for words. What could he say to his cyborg protector, that wouldn't hurt her? _Right, she's a machine._ No matter how much he wanted to believe she had feelings, he had been drilled by his mother that they couldn't. _They weren't capable of feeling. They were cold blooded killing machines. Nothing more, nothing less._

Then why was he having doubts? Especially after she told him that this locket was her heart?

"I-im gonna go back to bed," John sheepishly said, rubbing the back of his neck. "We'll talk more tomorrow." John then added before walking out of the room, and turning off the light on his way out.

Cameron stood in the dark, with the locket still in her palm, as she studied it closely. Honestly she didn't know why she had his picture in the locket. In a way, it made her feel… _wait, feel?_ That was something that made Cameron ponder on. _My systems must be glitching. I will have to do a full reboot later._

 _ **Next Morning**_

The next morning, Sarah gathered into the kitchen where She made her usual pancakes. She hadn't really done much cooking after traveling forward in time, but she was tired of John and Alex's fighting when it came to that cereal bowl. Now it was broken because of yesterday's incident with Derek. The house was more full now. For sure she was gonna need to do some shopping for the two.

"Morning mom," A voice came from behind her. Sarah jolted her head to find Chloe walk into the kitchen, wearing a pair of John's shorts and T-shirt. She and Derek appeared to only have one pair of clothes that they constantly wore.

What confused Sarah was why she called her mom?

"Morning Chloe?" She confusingly greeted. "Want some pancakes?" She then asked, motioning at the stack she had already made.

"I haven't eaten in days, so yeah I'll take some," Chloe nodded and took a plate from the cupboard. She then proceeded to take several pancakes onto her own plate and walked to the table, and started stuffing them in her mouth.

 _That girl can eat,_ Sarah thought.

"So I was thinking that since you and Derek might stick around for awhile, I would take you shopping for clothes and maybe get you an actual bed." Sarah explained.

"That sounds great!" Chloe said between mouthfuls or the bitter crispy pancakes. At least someone liked her cooking.

"And maybe teach you some manners as well." Sarah chuckled, at the young girl's eating habits. _Guess when you grow up during the apocalypse, manners are the least of your worries._

Sarah was broken from her thoughts, when Cameron enters the house wearing a police officer uniform. "Isn't it too early to be playing dress up?" Chloe asked the machine.

"And somewhere in an alley, a naked police officer bleeds." Sarah chuckled, also teasing the cyborg.

Cameron tilted her head to the side, not understanding what the girl with the stuffed mouth said, and Sarah's sarcastic comment. "The hand couldn't be recovered." She then informed Sarah.

"What do mean? You said it was lost near the scene, so the police should have found something?" Sarah persisted. She needed to find that triple eight hand, or Judgement Day would surely come, if not sooner.

"The _FBI_ has it." Cameron announced to Sarah, and handed her a slip of paper.

"This is the only thing we have to go on?" Cameron nodded. "Good work Tin Miss." Cameron turned on her heels and walked out of the kitchen just as John and Alex entered.

"Morning mom." John greeted.

Alex unsurprisingly ignored Sarah and too grabbed a plate from the cupboard and started stacking pancakes on it. Her and Sarah weren't on the best of terms when it came to conversation. Especially since she was half machine.

"You okay Alex?" Sarah asked concerned. Alex stopped in her tracks and turned to face the elder Connor.

"Did you actually just ask me if I was okay?" Alex asked surprised. _Since when does Sarah Connor ask if I was okay?_

"I did. What? I can't be nice once in awhile?" Sarah sarcastically remarked.

"You usually either insult me or order me around." Alex pointed out. Sarah didn't respond, and just stood there, not knowing how to respond.

"So what's the plan for today?" John asked. It was finally Saturday, and he wanted to relax or do something that a normal kid would do his age.

"I was actually just talking to Chloe about taking her out and getting her and Derek some clothes." Sarah replied.

John just nodded and proceeded to grab the two remaining pancakes that were on the plate. Alex and Chloe had grabbed most of them, so that left John very few.

He didn't mind at all.

"So Alex, now I have a question," Sarah then spoke up, putting down the spatula. "How did you know that the Terminator from New Mexico was here in the city?" Sarah suspiciously asked.

"Uhh," Was all that Alex could utter. She was still groggy and was slow at making up an excuse. "A hunch?"

Sarah crossed her arms. She didn't believe it one bit.

"What? I'm the only one who has been in a fight with this thing twice now, and I know it face pretty well since I now have its doppelganger sitting right next to me, eating pancakes." Alex explained.

Sarah's eyes widened. "Two times!?"

 _Well… shit, there's no backing out now._ "Okay yes, two times!" Alex truthfully admitted. "Once when I was saving John, and the second when we… snuck out." Alex mumbled the last part to herself, hoping the elder Connor wouldn't hear it. She did sadly.

"Okay that's it!" Sarah exclaimed and started unplugging everything. "Chloe, get Derek up. John, get Cameron and start packing up the weapons. We can cross the border at-"

"Mom! What happened to fighting Skynet!?" John argued. There was the old her he remembered when he broke her out of that mental hospital. The one who acted like Sarah Connor; the nut job who rants about machines nonstop, not Sarah Connor; the mother of the leader of of the human race.

"Your safety is more important John! If it found you and Alex or Cameron weren't there, you'd be killed before you could blink." Sarah ranted on.

"Have any of you forgot I shot it's eye out?" Alex sarcastically butted in the argument. "I've defeated this machine two times already. I think we'll be fine Sarah." _This machine is probably the most easiest one I have encountered by far._

"Mom, if it makes you feel any better, I won't go anywhere alone without Alex or Cameron accompanying me." John reasoned. Sarah was silent for a long whether they should leave the city, or stay and fight.

"Fine." Sarah reluctantly agreed. "But you're to stay in their sights at all times. No buts about it." Sarah said sternly, with no room for arguments. "So Chloe," Sarah then turned her attention to her niece. "Do you know anything about this type of machine? It does have your face after all."

"Well," Chloe began, setting down her fork. "I found out first hand that this machine has a on board plasma weapons system-"

"-Like in _New Mexico_ when it blew that bus sky high." John interrupted.

"-Anyway as I was saying," Chloe spoke up again. "I've also heard that they have mimetic poly alloy in their forearms that allows them to switch to and from their weapons without tearing the skin."

"Wait. Mimetic poly alloy?" Sarah asked in confusion. Chloe nodded, and was about to explain until Sarah continued. "Just like _97'_ all over again." She mumbled, to herself. She remembered the _T-1000_ that hunted her and John for several days.

"They can use the nanobots inside the alloy to quickly heal the skin, so it's better at infiltration." Chloe then finished. "That's all I know about its abilities. I'm not sure about their intelligence level, but I suspect it's more advanced than anything we've ever seen."

"Now that we know our enemy, we can better prepare for when it does come." Sarah nodded, and went back to plug back in the microwave. Cameron entered the kitchen not too long after, wearing her usual attire of denim jeans and a black tank top.

"You, go and find Dmitri, Derek says he has a sister who teaches ballet. Start with her. No guns, low profile." She instructed the cyborg. Cameron nodded once and stalked out of the kitchen once again. "And you two, go shopping with Alex." She then instructed John and Chloe. "I'm gonna investigate further into this hand thing."

Everyone had their mission. Now was the time to act.

•••

Derek stood outside, taking in the grass between his toes. He relished in the nice cool sensation of the slightly damp grass, and sun beating down on him. Since arriving in the past, he never got the chance to enjoy the little things. He had to focus on the mission.

"There you are dad," Chloe spoke up, exiting the house through the back door. "I was worried you ran off."

No response.

"Anyway, I was just going to ask if you wanted anything specific?" Chloe asked.

"Your going out?" Derek asked, not turning to look at his daughter.

"Yeah, shopping." Chloe informed simply.

"Is the machine going?" Derek then asked.

"No, she's going to find that chess computer you were looking for." Chloe sarcastically pointed out. She was still slightly angry with him for going behind her back and killing some random guy, then getting arrested and almost killed for it.

Derek turned and slowly walked up to her, until he was within inches of her face. " _It_ , Chloe! Not _She, it!"_ Derek said with venom. "I want you to stay away from _it_."

"Dad, _It_ won't do anything alright? Stop being so paranoid." Chloe argued. Derek responded by grabbing the back of Chloe's hair and tugging it back, so her head was tilted backwards.

"There is only one reason why i've lasted this long, and your eagerness to trust anyone and anything is what got you kidnapped in the first place!" Derek snapped at the young blonde. "I gave you an order and I expect you to follow it! Am I clear?" Derek gritted his teeth. Chloe nodded, and Derek released her hair. "I better not see you with that machine Chloe or so help me god."

"Yeah whatever." Chloe waved him off with a tear trailing down her cheek, and stomped back inside.

Derek turned back around to stare at the backyard again, with Sarah peeking through the window behind him.

She saw everything and was infuriated by the man's actions. It reminded her of what she did to John when he wouldn't listen. If she would've known what it actually looked like, she wouldn't have done it in the first place.

Sarah exited the backdoor a few seconds later to find Derek standing in the same spot. "What the hell was that?" Sarah vehemently asked.

Derek turned back around to see a very angry Sarah Connor prowl towards his direction. "What was what?"

His response was a slap across the face which stung pretty good. "Don't think I didn't see what you did."

"First, ow! And second, what you saw was none of your business!" Derek snapped back.

"Correction, it is my business! That girl was so worried about you dying on that table, that she broke down in tears." Sarah ranted.

"You want to know something Sarah?" Derek persisted. "There is a reason why she has a metal twin walking around!" Derek argued back. "Chloe is too damn trusting of anything that is human or metal otherwise! She needs to understand that th-these things are not human and never will be!"

Sarah remained silent, letting Derek fume at her until she had the information she exactly needed for a counter move. Chloe was just like John, if not the same. They both were very trusting of the machines that came and went. First it was Uncle Bob, and now it's Cameron and Alex. Not that she had a problem with those machines anyway, in fact, Sarah took a liking to the machine that looked exactly like the one that had killed Kyle back in _83'_. That machine took her love away from her, and John's father. But that didn't stop her from slightly bonding with both the _T-800_ and Cameron, and Alex.

"If I ever see you lay another hand on her, I'll finish what that other Terminator couldn't." Sarah said angrily and stomped away. Derek was surprised she didn't continue on about the situation.

With that, the soldier was left alone once more in the backyard. All ounce of relishing and relaxation in his body gone from the argument with Sarah Connor. He was surprised he didn't react when she slapped him, but that would've probably never even helped the situation anyway.

 _That machine needs to go. I can't believe Sarah and John Connor have that thing walking around like it's a damn human. And who's this Alex girl? She gives me the creeps and I don't know why yet._

Derek put these thoughts aside, after feeling another sharp pain in his side, and looked down to see that his wound started bleeding again. He would need a fresh change and some more pain meds, if they had any. Derek turned and walked back into the house, feeling only anger at himself for the way he just treated his daughter.

 _But she needed to get the point that machines are killers. They aren't human and will never be human._

Derek would make sure Chloe stayed away from Cameron, and that they be prepared for if the machine had an agenda of its own.

•••

 _ **Author's Note: This Chapter didn't have a whole lot of action, but instead settled on more drama and relationship development between everyone, which I personally enjoy more sometimes.**_

 _ **Not my most proudest chapter. In my opinion, it was a little all over the place, but next chapter will be more understandable.**_

 _ **I will do my best to make these OC characters that I have created are interesting, because I know they usually don't interest you; the readers very much. I know that feeling too, so I'm here to do my best to make sure that you'll see these characters like we would see our heros.**_

 _ **Reviews are appreciated!**_


	9. Chapter 9

**Terminator: No Fate But What We Make**

 **Chapter 9**

 _ **Crystal Peak, June 8, 2027: Resistance Base**_

 _ **7:02 pm**_

"What's our position on Serrano Point, over?" John spoke into the CB radio. He was currently standing at the main conference table, inside the war planning room of the base with some members of his inner circle, which included Chief Medical Officer; Amy Williams.

Lieutenant Justin Perry was out fighting the battle, trying to gain the upper hand against the machines. The battle had been raging for two days now and didn't show any signs of ending now. If they could win this battle, then the tide of this war would change in their favor.

" _General, We've pushed the machines back, but Skynet sent four more Ogres and several more dozens of HKs."_ Perry responded over the radio.

"Dammit!" John slammed his fist on the table. "Perry, fall back, this is a battle we cannot win." John then commanded.

There was a long pause before Perry spoke up again. " _Negative General. I have a plan."_ Perry informed before his radio transmission cut off. John set the radio down and looked at the members of the inner circle, looking at him with concern.

"Radio one of the bases closest to Serrano, and tell them to aid Perry's forces." John ordered nobody in particular.

One Hispanic man stood up and saluted. "I'll get right on it sir." The man said and walked off.

"We meet here tomorrow to discuss further actions regarding Serrano point, is that clear?" John asked his fellow members sternly. They all nodded with response and stood to leave. "Dismissed." With that, everyone left the room, only leaving John and Doctor Williams. "Shouldn't you have some leg that needs patching up?" John annoyingly asked the older woman.

Williams just crossed her arms and continued to stare at John in disgust. "General, with all do respect, since Allison disappeared, you've been acting like a prick."

"Noted." John responded and took a seat.

"Really? Noted? Shouldn't you be locking me up or something?" Williams asked perplexed.

"Why would I?" John furrowed his eyebrow. "It's true, isn't it? John Connor has become a coward. John Connor is acting cold." John referred himself in third person.

"John, you know that isn't true!" Williams tried reassuring.

"It isn't?" John scoffed. "My life has been hell, and do you know what I do about it? I whine or cry because life is too hard!" John then snapped. "I was born to be this leader but so far, all I've done is either push people away, or mope about it!"

"John?" Williams spoke up, only to be ignored.

"Ever since I was a child, all I've done was run away from my destiny, and put my life in danger!" John continued to rant.

"John?" Williams spoke up again, only to have the same outcome.

"Now I'm standing here in this room, while the little girl that i've seen as my daughter, is out there in the depths of hell, probably starving to death, or just lying in a mound of rubble, rotting! And I also just sent a majority of my men to their deaths just to take a stupid power plant!"

"John!" Williams snapped, breaking the General from his outburst. She grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him around to look out the large window. John looked at one of the larger monitors and saw that someone has infiltrated the base. The monitor displayed a lone figure at the entrance killing over a dozen guards with a plasma rifle.

"Raise the alarm." John ordered Williams. He couldn't believe his eyes at what he was seeing.

"General?" Williams asked confused.

"I said now!" He barked at the medic with a stern tone. She hesitantly nodded and bolted out of the room, to activate the alarm. John walked out of the war room, grabbing his Beretta handgun, and his stun gun along the way.

 _ **Los Angeles, California, September 22, 2007: (Ellison Residence)**_

 _ **10:13 am**_

 _Knock, knock, knock._

Ellison opened his door, to find Aldridge standing in front of him, holding a plate wrapped in tin foil. "Morning James." Aldridge greeted. "You didn't come over for dinner last night?"

"I'm sorry, I was up late going over more evidence." Ellison apologized. He was still wearing his white T-shirt and sweatpants. He had barely started on a cup of coffee, let alone put his suit and tie on.

"Oh. Well luckily we had some leftovers." Aldridge motioned at the plate he was carrying. "May I come in?"

"Sure." Ellison nodded and made room for him to walk through. Aldridge gratefully took the offer, and walked inside, with Ellison closing the door behind him.

"So, what evidence were you looking over?" Aldridge asked curiously. Ellison walked into the kitchen, with Aldridge following, and set the plate on the counter. Ellison then opened the freezer of his refrigerator and pulled out a large plastic bag, and handed it to the man.

"Oh my god!" Aldridge squealed and dropped the bag on the table. "What the hell is that!?"

"That Aldridge, is evidence." Ellison simply answered. "The only proof that Sarah Connor's machine predictions are true."

"Oh my." Aldridge started pacing back and forth. He was shocked to actually see the real thing, even if it was very little. "So these machines are actually walking around?"

Ellison nodded in agreement. "Sarah Connor also said they came back through time, where an artificial intelligence has almost wiped out mankind."

"Then this." Aldridge picked up the bag, containing the severed triple hand. "This cannot fall into the wrong hands. We have to destroy it."

"That's the only evidence of this whole thing that we got!" Ellison snapped at the man. "If we destroy this hand, then we can't prove that Sarah Connor was right and that the machines will destroy us." He explained simply.

"What do you suggest then James?" Aldridge rose his eyebrow in confusion.

"The brunette from both videos. She was with Sarah Connor the day the bank was destroyed. If she can be here in 2007, then that means they survived the explosion." Ellison acknowledged in realization.

"James, you remember what the bank looked like right? There is no chance that anyone could have survived that." Aldridge argued.

"What were the chances that robots were walking among us?" Ellison pointed out. "We need to find this girl. She can lead us to Sarah Connor."

"Or she'll do to us what she did to that blonde." Aldridge chuckled. "But I guess you do have a point James. I'm not saying Sarah Connor is still alive, but if she is, then I'll be on the lookout for this woman." Aldridge nodded in acceptance and stood up from his chair. "I'll call if I find anything."

With that, Aldridge left Ellison in the kitchen and exited the house. Ellison picked up the hand and studied it for the fifth time since he had found it. He was gonna crack open this case and find the answers he needed.

 _ **Los Angeles, California, September 22, 2007 (Unknown Location)**_

 _ **12:48 pm**_

Shopping malls are always full of people, either spending their paycheck, buying the necessities, or just spending time with friends and family. The place was packed, which allowed John, Alex, Cameron and Chloe to walk around unnoticed.

 _Too bad we couldn't go back to the Galleria. Thanks to that Terminator hunting us, we had to drive farther out into the city to shop for clothes._

Cameron had tagged along with the trio because she needed a ballet uniform and some extra clothes for her mission in finding Dmitri and the turk. John didn't really like always spending time with all these women but quite honestly he was used to it. He had been living with only his mother, Alex and Cameron for the past few weeks. At least he now had an uncle to spend time with.

The group walked into a JC Penneys, where the sections upon sections of clothing greeted them. Again, John wasn't too keen on shopping with a bunch of women, but he was forced to, by his mother because of the promise he made to her. He promised her that he'd stay close to either Alex or Cameron just in case the nine fifty had found him. Without his cyborg protectors, he would surely be dead if that Terminator found him.

"Alright, so what exactly do you need to infiltrate this ballet school anyway?" John asked Cameron. " A tutu maybe?" He then added mockingly.

Cameron responded by tilting her head to the side in her normal manner. "A tutu?" She asked confused.

"You don't know what a tutu is?" John inquired.

"I know what a tutu is." Cameron stated in her monotone voice. "How does it fit into me infiltrating the ballet school?"

"It's just a joke Cam." John explained.

"Oh. Thank you for explaining." Cameron returned her head to its upright position. She gave John a ghost smirk before turning her head to browse through the spandex uniforms. "I need a leotard and ballet slippers if I'm going to qualify for the beginner class." She then explained to the three.

Before Cameron had the chance to inspect the shelves of uniforms, Alex had pushed in front of her and began to grab a black leotard and dropped it in the basket.

John noticed that Cameron's eyes fell to the ground before returning back to its normal position. "What are you doing?" John asked Alex confused.

"All she'll do is grab everything that is purple, and spend thirty minutes on trying to determine which one is of better quality and protection." Alex argued. "So i'm making this whole ordeal easier for the rest of us and shopping for her."

"So wait?" Chloe spoke up in curiosity. "You have to shop for the metal?"

"Pretty much." Alex responded annoyingly. "She has taken a strange liking to purple."

"I can see that." Chloe muttered, referring to the millions of times that John and Alex told Cameron to not get that exact color.

"Come on Alex." John persisted. "Give Cameron a chance." Ever since earlier this morning, John had begun to look at Cameron differently than just a mindless killing machine. Now that she carried around a locket, believing it to be her only heart, John knew that she had to be different.

"Fine," Alex reluctantly agreed and tossed the black leotard back at Cameron. "I'm going to take Chloe to get something, so let's leave Cameron alone to find what she needs." Alex then added, grabbing Chloe by the wrist and leading her away.

"Will you be okay here by yourself?" John asked.

"Yes." She nodded once. "It's a clothing store, not super max. I can handle it." Cameron said reassuringly and began to search through the piles of gymnastics uniforms.

"And don't get anything purple!" Alex then shouted across the store. John couldn't help but chuckled at Alex's comical insults at Cameron. They never seemed to get along that well, yet they did. Alex always argued with Cameron, with her receiving a snappy comment in return or a stoic glare. John turned on his heels, and caught up with Chloe and Alex, leaving Cameron alone in the sports section alone.

Meanwhile across the store, Chloe was browsing through various pairs of T-shirts and jeans. She had found a couple pairs of casual clothes that she liked and assumed that they were her size, so she just tossed them in the basket that Alex had grabbed on the way in.

"Shouldn't you try those on or something?" John asked after observing how Chloe just guessed if they fit her by just looking at them.

"Nah." Chloe stubbornly replied and threw another T-shirt in the basket. "In the future we didn't have the luxury of having the right clothe sizes, so I mostly wore baggy clothing anyway." Chloe explained.

John listened to Chloe's little story in amazement. He always wondered what the world after Judgment Day was like, but he could only imagine the horrors that lied within. Chloe on the other hand, experienced the death and destruction that his mother had told him about, and she was about the same age as he was.

"But," Chloe continued. "If you think I should try to find something my size, maybe I should go look at the spandex that the machine is looking at." Chloe mischievously giggled at John.

Alex noticed the weird exchange between the two and decided to butt in. "Keep it in your pants sister." Alex sarcastically spoke up, butting in the conversation between the two. "So now we need to get Derek something." She then added.

Alex and John noticed that Chloe winced at the mention of her father's name, which confused them a bit. Just yesterday, she was pleading the Alex and Charlie save him when she had tears trailing down her face.

"Do you know his size or?" Alex then asked Chloe, trying to change the topic.

Chloe nodded and the three walked to the mens section of the store. For a short moment, John and Chloe grabbed a few pairs of pants, shirts, a pair of boots and even a new coat for Derek. Chloe mostly grabbed the type of attire that her father would most likely wear. Derek was like her, he wasn't so picky with his style and would wear anything that'd fit him too.

They now had everything that they needed and the basket was filled up to the brim with clothing. "Should've got a bigger basket." Alex sarcastically muttered, as she tired to balance all the clothes that were trying to fall out of the small shopping bin.

The three walked back to the area where they had left Cameron several minutes before, and found her not there anymore. "Where did it go?" Chloe asked in relations to the cyborg's sudden disappearance.

Suddenly, the dressing room door, that was not too far away, swung open with Cameron walking out, wearing a long black sleeveless dress that was tight enough to show her curves. John's jaw dropped so low in amazement that he was sure it almost hit the floor. She looked beautiful. Even for a machine that was sent back in time to protect him, he was stunned at her beauty.

"That's not a ballet uniform but wow!" Alex exclaimed in complete surprise. She had to admit that Cameron did look pretty damn good in that dress.

"I already have what I need." Cameron informed in her usual monotone voice. "I thought I'd try it on."

"Well at least it's not purple." Alex chuckled to herself. Cameron placed the stacks of spandex and ballet shoes into the already full basket that Alex was carrying, infuriating her further.

"What do you think John?" Cameron then asked for John's approval. "Does it make me look fat?"

"No!" John blurted unintentionally. "I mean, it looks really great on you Cameron." John blushed noticeably. Both he and Cameron shared a long gaze at one another until Chloe coughed, gaining their attention.

"Okay, so now that we are done, can we please leave?" Chloe annoyingly asked. She didn't want to stick around longer than she had to.

"We'll leave as soon as Cameron changes back into her original clothes." Alex simply stated. Cameron turned to walked back into the dressing room, and closing the door behind her.

"Surprised it didn't change right here." Chloe mumbled to herself.

"She actually tried that once." John whispered into Chloe's ear. "Another reason why we don't shop at Walmart."

After a short moment, Cameron walked out of the dressing room, with the dress, that she was previously wearing, in hand, and also piled it in the overflowed basket. Alex's face turned so red that she was surprised that one of her artificial veins didn't burst. The group went to the checkout counter and paid for their clothes. Now that they were done, they all walked out of the store and down past several more stores on their way to the jeep. On the way, Alex had stopped suddenly, raising the attention of the rest.

"What's wrong Alex?" Chloe worryingly asked. "Is it metal?" Ever since the attack on the their safe house, Chloe had been very paranoid about how easily the machines could find them if they weren't careful.

"No." Alex reassured. "This is much better!" She then squealed in excitement and careened into the shop, leaving both John, Cameron and Chloe outside.

"Frozen yogurt and ice cream shop?" Chloe said to nobody in particular.

"You never tried ice cream or frozen before?" John asked already knowing the answer. He somewhat expected someone that came from the future, to have at least tried it once.

Not to his surprise, Chloe shook her head. "No, I've only been here for a few months." Chloe answered. She never had the chance to try anything that the pre J-Day world provided, except actual food that wasn't garbage or rat.

"Well, you're going to like this then." John grinned and led the two into the shop, after Alex.

Once inside the shop, the line was very short with Alex already standing in the back of the line. The line went fairly quick. Alex got herself a medium cup of cherry frozen yogurt, while Chloe and John got chocolate ice cream cones. Now the four sat inside around a booth eating their frozen treat. John and Cameron sat in one booth while Alex and Chloe sat in the opposite.

Cameron just observed everyone curiously as John, and Chloe had rushed to lick their cones as the heat melted them rapidly.

"Are you sure you don't want one?" John asked Cameron. It was the second time that he had asked her because he felt bad that everyone but her was enjoying an ice cream.

"I don't eat." Cameron stated in her monotone voice. "I have no need for it unless my skin sheath requires nutrients to heal."

"Come on, just try it." John persisted, holding his ice cream cone out to Cameron. She hesitantly took the cone and began to lick it the same fashion that she had observed both John and Chloe do.

Everybody started laughing uncontrollably at the cyborg when the the cone was finished and her face and hands were covered in the melted sticky ice cream. "What?" She asked confused.

"And I thought my manners were terrible." Chloe spoke between laughter. Cameron looked like a little child that got too messy with their meal. John grabbed a napkin from the middle of the table and began to wipe her face and hands off, trying to clean them as much as possible.

Chloe began to show signs of discomfort at the way he was treating the machine. She didn't understand why John Connor was practically treating the metal like it was human. It disgusted her.

Alex noticed the look of anger that Chloe had casted at Cameron. Was it was the look of jealousy? Or did she just really hate machines? Alex wasn't certain but she had to confront Chloe about the whole situation later.

"Okay so it's almost time for your ballet lesson, so we better get going." Alex spoke up, breaking the uncomfortable silence. Everyone nodded in agreement and got up off their chairs, and began walking to out of the shop, back to the jeep. On the way, Alex still noticed the way that Chloe eyed Cameron the whole time. It was the same look that Derek gave her just right before they left for the shopping trip. But this look was different. It was the look of jealousy.

 _ **Los Angeles California, September 22, 2007: (Apartment)**_

 _ **8:19 pm**_

It had been a long, boring week for Veronica. Well a long week for her. Machines were incapable of getting bored like humans did. To her the boring part about the situation, was that she didn't pursue her main mission. Terminate John Connor.

Veronica walked out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but underwear. Her hair was still soaked from the shower she had taken, and her right red glowing eye was showing. She had successfully modified the T-888 optical sensor to meet the requirements that her system needed.

The skin around the eye would heal within twenty four hours, thanks to the nanobots that coated her arms. In twenty four hours, Veronica could continue her hunt for the future leader of mankind.

 _Ding, Dong._

Veronica jolted her head to the door, and scanned the heat signature that was on the other side. The heat signature wasn't armed with a weapon that she could see, and was holding an object in his arms.

Vernonia stalked to the door, stopping to grab an eye patch that was on the coffee table. She then opened the door, revealing an all too familiar face. Her next door neighbor; Nick. "Oh jeez!" Nick exclaimed and quickly averted his gaze from Veronica.

"Is something wrong?" Veronica asked, tilting her head to the side.

"No, it's just," Nick trailed off, still not looking in her direction. "Your naked again." He then added.

Veronica looked down, realizing that she was still only wearing her black bra and panties. She had forgot to change into more modest, suitable attire. "Oh."

"Guess it isn't the first time this has happened, so it's nothing new." Nick sighed and hesitantly looked back at Veronica, using all of his self control to not look down at her figure. "Here. I brought you some leftover Jalapeño poppers from my party earlier." Nick then said, handing Veronica the tin foiled paper plate.

"Thank you Nick." Veronica gave the young man a smirk and took the plate. "I didn't know you were having a party."

"Yeah, I tried inviting you, but I had the feeling that you wouldn't go anyway, so I just left you alone." Nick explained sadly.

"Yes. I wouldn't have gone." Veronica truthfully admitted, with her face still blank.

"Yeah, I know you all too well." Nick muttered. "Anyway, I'm gonna go. I'll see you around Vero." Nick waved and walked away, back to his apartment.

"Nick?" Veronica spoke up, gaining the young man's attention. He turned around to see her standing behind him, still half naked. "Why do you like me?"

"I uhh." Nick stuttered. He didn't know how exactly he was going to explain this to Veronica, especially since she was known to be particularly dumb to most people. "I guess I find your personality cute and innocent." Nick explained simply.

"My personality?" Veronica tilted her head in confusion.

"Yeah, your personality." Nick nodded. "I like the way you comprehend most stuff like a child would." Nick explained to Veronica. "I think it's cute."

"Oh. Thanks for explaining." Veronica nodded in acceptance. The two stood outside, in front of Veronica's apartment, with Veronica just stoically staring at Nick. He didn't know what to say to her, since last time he had admitted his feelings to her, she just drove away. That was another question he had.

 _Is it even legal for a partially blind person to drive?_ He thought.

Nick noticed that Veronica was wearing an eye patch for some reason, one which she never wears. She usually didn't care what people thought about her hazy eye. "I like the eye patch." Nick spoke up, breaking the silence.

"Thank you." Veronica simply replied, still staring back at him.

"Do you maybe want to put some clothes on or something?" Nick then asked, motioning at her half naked body. He was concerned for if the other neighbors would see her.

Vero looked down again before looking back up at him. "I can, but I don't want to."

"You're always so stubborn you know." Nick pointed out.

"Yes. I'm stubborn." Veronica agreed.

"Do you want to see movie sometime or?" Nick then asked.

Veronica pondered on the question for a long moment before answering. "Yes."

"Wait really?" Nick shook his head in disbelief. _She actually said yes for once!_

"Why did you ask if you expected a different answer?" Veronica asked in confusion. _Humans are complicated._

"Nevermind that," Nick reassuringly said. "I'll call you about the details. How does this Saturday sound?" Nick asked hopeful.

"Saturday sounds good." Veronica agreed.

"Awesome!" Nick exclaimed excitedly. For once he had scored a date with his next door neighbor. "I will see you then." Nick then added, and walked away, back to his apartment. Veronica turned and entered back inside her living room and closed the door behind her. She set down the plate that Nick had given her, onto the kitchen counter and walked back into her bathroom.

 _Why did I say yes to him? He's not a mission priority. I need to focus on my mission._

Veronica gazed down at the sink, only to see the bloody pocket knife she had just used to reinsert the optical sensor into her eye socket. She then picked up the blade and studied it for a brief moment, before tightly gripping it with her fist.

 _Nick is a distraction. He needs to be terminated._

•••

 _ **Author's Note: This chapter was very short, I know. Without the help of ActionfreakXD, I wouldn't have been able to finish this chapter whatsoever, so make sure you go check out their work!**_

 _ **Another reason that I wasn't able to get this chapter out sooner was because i'm recovering from a surgery that I had two days ago, and had been resting for a majority of my time.**_

 _ **I'm also not sure how long it will be till I'll have the next chapter out either. It could be one week, maybe two. It could even be a month, so don't worry if I haven't posted in awhile. I'm not giving up on this story!**_

 _ **Reviews are appreciated!**_


	10. Chapter 10

**Terminator: No Fate But What We Make**

 **Chapter 10**

 ** _Los Angeles California, September 23, 2007: (Connor Residence)_**

 ** _9:28 pm_**

 _Life is fragile. Like all life, it eventually gets old and eventually it dies. But what can be said for a machine? A machine can go for as long as it takes to complete its mission, only to be useless after its mission is completed. That isn't life. It isn't a goal that living things strive for. It's circuitry that determines their actions._

John and Chloe were seated on the bed in his room. John was currently helping Chloe gather the supplies that she needed, into a school bag for her first day of school tomorrow.

Sarah had managed to get Chloe enrolled in the same school as John, after using some of the leftover cash to buy both her and Derek their own IDs, which allowed Chloe an actual education for once in her life.

Derek on the other hand was still a known fugitive in the state after Andy Goode was killed, so he couldn't afford to be seen or caught by the authorities. If he did, there was no escape. He would be sent to a high security prison where he would live out the rest of his days till Judgement Day arrived.

"I rarely see the need for all this junk." Chloe opinionatedly stated, referring to the stacks of binders and notebooks that John was shoving into the book bag.

"Trust me, if you don't have any of this the teachers will chew you out for not being _'Prepared'_ and what not." John simply explained, with him even quoting prepared with his fingers. A long moment of silence loomed around the room before John spoke up again. "Didn't you have any type of school in the future?" He then asked.

"Only the larger bases had education systems for children." Chloe answered sadly. "If you were in one of the smaller outposts, you were pretty much given a rifle when you were able to walk and talk."

"Damn." John muttered to himself. He could barely imagine the war with machines let alone small children being forced into battle. _Another horrible reason to stop Skynet._

"Thanks for helping me with this." Chloe smiled at John, as she openly gazed at him. John nodded but didn't pay much attention to Chloe's stares and continued to pack her book bag with the essentials. "So... I um... have to ask you a question." Chloe asked, breaking John's attention away from the bag. "Why were you ogling the machine yesterday?"

"Ogling?" John furrowed his eyebrow upward in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You were staring at the metal in that dress, with you practically drooling!" Chloe exclaimed. "It's disgusting and-"

"-Ahem." A voice coughed, interrupted Chloe's outburst. She turned around to see Alex leaning in the doorway frame, with her arms crossed, as she observed the two. "Sarah wanted to speak with you Chloe," Alex said. Chloe nodded and gazed at John before she leaped out of bed and shuffled past Alex, leaving the room.

As soon as Chloe was out of sight, Alex immediately shut the door behind her and turned her to look at John with a worried and confused expression on her face. "I need to talk to you about Chloe and Derek."

"What about them?" John asked curiously. Alex shuffled her way to John's bed and sat where Chloe was seated moment ago.

"Okay, so how do I put this in a way that doesn't make me sound crazy." She muttered to herself in particular. A short moment later she spoke up again, having a way to explain her ordeal. "I have never seen or heard of Chloe or Derek before in the future."

"What? What do you mean?" John asked confused.

 _Jesus, Alex, never go on Jeopardy._ "Kyle never told me that he had a brother." Alex then said.

"Wait, you knew Kyle too?" John asked surprised. _Has everyone but me, met him?_

Alex nodded in confirmation to John's question. "Yeah, he and you were all buddy buddy with each other in the future." She then shook her head and quickly redirected the subject back to Chloe and Derek. "But that's not the point John. The point is, that in the future, Derek was dead a long time."

"How?" John asked, still confused. He wasn't quite sure where Alex was going with this. "If he's supposed to be dead, then who is on our couch?" John asked.

"I have no clue, but I may have another theory." Alex then mentioned.

This peaked John's curiosity. "What _theory_?"

"I think it's because we screwed up the timeline." She simply answered. John responded by scoffing at Alex's crazy proposal. "What? It would make sense wouldn't it?" Her face pouted as she crossed her arms again.

John couldn't help but chuckled at the crazy suggestion that Alex had said, but only stopped when he noticed the look of seriousness written on her face. "What makes you think this then?" He then decided to ask.

"We already messed with the events back in _1999_ while trying to keep it the same as possible." Alex began. John placed down Chloe's book bag on the floor and positioned himself, giving Alex his full undivided attention. "But something in that time frame had altered the events enough for the future to have changed."

"Maybe it's you and Cameron coming back in time that changed everything?" John casually suggested. It had to make sense right? "Or maybe, it's that Terminatrix that's hunting us."

"Terminatrix?" Alex mused. It seemed like a fitting name for the Veronica Terminator that was hunting John.

 _Wait a minute!_ Alex's eyes widened in sudden realization. _John told me that he his other future self would have sent Cameron back in time to stop a T-triple eight from assassinating his younger self. That exact triple eight was nowhere to be seen on the day that the Terminatrix attacked John at school._

"John, the Terminatrix!" She shouted in his face as she rapidly shook his shoulders.

"What about her?" John asked confused as to why she was acting so enthusiastic.

"She is the key to this!" She exclaimed further. "Either it's what happened on the day of the attack that altered the timeline, or it's something else that occured!"

"We should talk to mom about this then." John nodded and rose from the bed, only to be pushed back down by Alex.

"Not a good idea." She shook her head in disagreement.

"Why? She should know about this." John argued.

"If I know Sarah well by now, then I know that she won't trust them after telling her this." Alex explained. _Sarah is too much of a hard ass._

"Then what should we do?" John asked. If they couldn't tell his mother, then what other option was there?

"For now, don't tell anyone about this, okay? Not even Cameron." Alex sternly ordered.

John nodded in acceptance, and the two sat in complete silence for a long moment before John spoke up again. "What was he like?" John asked nonchalantly. "Kyle I mean." He clarified.

"I didn't know him all that well." Alex truthfully admitted. "But he seemed like a caring guy that would put anyone else first." Alex said. John remained silent, taking in the words that Alex had spoken. "Why do you ask?"

"He saved my mom from an attempted assassination years ago, but he died in the process." John sadly informed.

"Damn, guess that's why Derek was ranting on about where you sent him." Alex chuckled, remembering two days back when she and Charlie were patching him up. He kept shouting at John, demanding where he sent Kyle. But she only thought of it as him being delusional and quickly dismissed it up until now.

John sighed. He never personally knew the man, but he had heard so many great stories from his mother. He was the mysterious man who had saved his mother from some crazed lunatic trying to kill her. He was the man who had revealed the horrifying future to her and what role she played it all of it. It was that very man who became his father.

The two continued to talk for a short time until John's door flew open, with a very concerned Chloe charging in. "Sarah wants you two downstairs, now!" She exclaimed and turned to leave. Alex and John gave each other a short confused glace before chasing after the blonde teenager.

•••

Chloe, John, and Alex rush downstairs to the living room, where they saw Derek, Sarah, and Cameron standing next to the television which wasn't turned on. Derek was heard screaming insults at Cameron because she had the remote.

"Why are you yelling at her Derek?" John asked.

"It turned off the TV! It doesn't even know how to work something so simple!" Derek angrily exclaimed, only stopping to grab the area where he was shot and wince in pain.

"These things should come with a manual." Cameron monotone, as she continued to confusingly study the remote.

John walked up to her and gently took the remote from her gasp and turned on the television. "You would think that the most smartest computer on the planet would be able to use a TV remote." John chuckled and handed the device back to Cameron. "It's not rocket science."

"No. It's not rocket science." Cameron repeated blankly.

"Will you turn it up?" Derek sneered at the cyborg. Cameron hesitantly complied and turned the volume up. The six silently stood around the TV as they watched the local news station:

 _This just in, gunshots, and even an explosion have awakened a quiet Sunday night, and turned it into something out of a nightmare._

The scene showed an aerial shot of an apartment complex parking lot with several police, fire, and medical services surrounding the area. One corner of the area was sealed off by yellow police tape and the area was engulfed in dark smoke.

 _Tonight, a man was found brutally murdered after the sounds of gunshots and an explosion had abruptly woken the neighbors, where the scene that they saw would only scar them for years to come._

The scene now a close up shot of the burnt out vehicle that was crashed into a brick wall. The fire had long since died out, but there was still smoke rising from the car.

 _Due to the family's wishes, we are not going to release the name of the victim who sadly lost their life here tonight, so we can give the family the respect that they deserve._

 _We have an official report from the local police department as they have come out with facts that will shed light to this tragic night._

The scene now changed from the anchorman, to what appeared to be the chief of police of the Los Angeles Police Department.

 _From our observations, the victim had an extreme cauterized wound under the abdomen, and the neck was broken in four different places. The cause is unknown, but we expect to have further answers as to what exactly happened._

 _The department has only one suspect to go on as of right now._

Now a picture appeared on the right hand corner as the police chief continued talking. The picture was of a woman with long blonde hair, and had a pale blue eye on her right side. Immediately chills ran down Alex, John, and Chloe's spine as they immediately recognized the face. It was identical to Chloe.

 _This woman; Veronica Palmer was last seen by witnesses, conversing with the victim the day before. As of right now, her whereabouts are currently unknown, but she is considered to be possible armed and extremely dangerous until proven innocent._

Cameron shut off the television and placed the remote on top of the entertainment center.

"Guess our metal friend has been busy." Sarah referred to the recent events on the news.

"All metal does is cause death and chaos." Derek grumbled, as he glared daggers at Cameron. She and him engaged in in a stare off until Sarah spoke up.

"Why would she kill someone who isn't John? Isn't that her mission?" Sarah asked Cameron and Alex confused. Terminators usually wouldn't kill you unless you were either targeted or considered a threat.

Alex shrugged. "We don't know for sure what her mission is except that John is one of them."

"One of them?" Sarah inquired.

"Yes. Some of the more advanced models can be enabled to carry out more than one mission." Cameron explained. "It's possible that she is also hunting members of John's inner circle, here in the past."

"My inner circle?" John now asked curiously. He had never gone into detail on what his future was like, except that he would be the leader.

"Your future self didn't trust himself to lead the entire Resistance alone. Instead he created a counsel of some of the best minds to create a better leadership." Alex answered.

"And this counsel. It's possible that she's hunting them?" Sarah then asked.

"It's a possibility." Cameron nodded in agreement.

"At least the news gives us a rough location." Derek spoke up again. "Tomorrow we should go and see what clues we can find about this metal." Sarah simply nodded in response. "You can't go to school Chloe." He then said to his daughter.

"What? Why?" She inquired confused.

"You have a metal twin that is wanted for murder." Derek pointed at the Television. "If the cops get you, then that could lead them to us and possibly the machine in the process!"

"I'm going to school dad! Whether you like it or not!" Chloe sneered angrily.

"There you go yet again!" Derek sarcastically replied. "Your stubbornness is going to get you killed, you know that?"

"Maybe if you'd actually trust me once in awhile, we wouldn't be having this argument in front of everyone!" Chloe growled frustrated. Before Derek could speak another word, Chloe turned on her heels and stomped upstairs, with an audible door slamming shut.

"You really should let her go to school." Sarah spoke up calmly.

"Oh, so you agree with her." Derek sarcastically replied.

"I'm not agreeing with Chloe." Sarah denied. "I'm just saying that this machine version of her looks very different from your daughter."

"For starters, Chloe doesn't have a blind eye, and this one seems to have much longer hair." Alex mentioned nonchalantly.

"She'll be fine Derek." John reassured. "I don't think the police will be looking for a high school student anyway."

"Fine." Derek hesitantly agreed. "Do whatever the hell you want." He then said, and walked into the kitchen. He had no reason for it, he just wanted to get away from everyone for awhile.

"This house seems to be full of drama lately." Alex sighed and fell onto the couch. "So what's the plan for the Terminatrix?"

"Terminatrix?" Sarah asked confused. John and Alex explained the name, which she just nodded in acceptance and got straight to the point. "Tomorrow, me and Derek will go take a look. I'm also going to bring Tin Miss with us."

"Am I playing hookie again?" Cameron asked innocently, as she tilted her head to the side.

"If we encounter this _Terminatrix_ , then we are going to need your assistance." Sarah acknowledged simply. "You three are going to school, no acceptions."

"Anything to get away from this drama we call a safehouse." Alex muttered and turned on the television again. John turned to leave upstairs, and Sarah Walked into her bedroom.

Cameron just stood there, next to Alex as they both began to watch an episode of _Drake and Josh_ , that Alex had stumbled upon.

"Why is Josh hitting Drake with a foam finger?" Cameron asked.

"Do I look like I know why?" Alex glared at the cyborg.

"No." Cameron agreed. The two continued to watch the episode, with Alex occasionally laughing at certain parts of the sitcom. Cameron on the other hand, kept asking questions in her usual manner. Tonight was going to be a long night.

 ** _Los Angeles California, September 23, 2007: (2 Hours earlier)_**

 ** _7:10 pm_**

The door opened into the dark apartment, illuminating light inside from the moonlight outside. The features of the inside of the apartment were indistinguishable to the naked eye. A male entered the room carrying a black track jacket slung around his left arm, with a set of keys in the other.

The man flipped the light on which quickly lit up the living room. The living room was moderately clean, aside from the various pop culture posters and collectibles that were plastered everywhere. The man was revealed to be wearing a Burger King work uniform, with his tag reading _"Nick"_ on a gold badge.

Nick had thrown the track jacket on the sofa and placed his keys on the counter. He slowly strolled to the kitchen where he opened the refrigerator and pulled out a soda from inside. He opened the lid and took a long swig, with him wincing from the burn that it left in his throat.

Once satisfied, he placed the soda on the counter, where his keys were, and walked into the living room where he sat down and grabbed the TV remote. Nick spent several minutes flicking through various television channels, not really finding anything interesting to watch.

 ** _Crash!_**

Nick leaped off the sofa, being startled by the sound of what sounded like glass breaking. The sound appeared to have come from his bedroom. Since the rest of the apartment was dark, aside from the living room, he couldn't make out what was down the small hallway that led into his bedroom. He grabbed the nearest object that was near him, which was a bust of a weirdly shaped spaceship that resembled a tortoise with its neck stretched out.

Nick slowly crept down the hall, doing his best not to make loud footsteps. He had goosebumps that made the hairs on his arms and neck stand on end. He was terrified at what the source of the sound could have been. As he reached the bedroom door, he placed his hand on the knob and slowly turned it. He then gently pushed the door open with the door making an audible screech as entered. _Should've oiled the damn thing,_ He thought.

Nick wasted no time in flipping on the light, as he rose his spaceship statue ready to attack any intruder. But the only thing that came into view was his bedside mirror had fallen onto the ground and shattered into little pieces. Nick lowered the statue in relief. _Oh, it was only the mirror. Stupid IKEA._

Nick knelt down to pick up the pieces of glass, where he picked up a very large piece. He unintentionally lifted the glass to look at his face where he saw something. The hairs on his neck stood once again as another figure came into view behind him. Nick jumped up onto his feet and whirled around to see Vernonia standing behind him. Except something was different about her. Her eye was… glowing?

Nick was at a loss for words. On one hand, he was relieved that it was someone he knew, but on the other, he was terrified of that glowing red eye. It stared into his soul. "V-Veronica?" He stuttered nervously. "What are you doing in here?"

She didn't respond however. She just stood there with a blank expression and stared at him with both her normal and mechanical eye.

"Veronica? You're f-freaking me out." He stuttered again.

Again, silence was his answer. Nick backed up slowly, as the sounds of the broken glass cracked beneath his feet.

She reacted to the sound and began to slowly stalk forward towards Nick, with her gaze fixed on him, and her face still showing no emotion.

"Please stop." Nick pleaded as she krept closer to him. He still had the large piece if glass in his hand that he hid behind his back.

"You have to be terminated." She finally answered in a monotone voice, as she reached behind her back. She pulled out a nine millimeter handgun and rose the weapon at Nick.

But before she could pull the trigger, Nick hurled the large piece of glass at Veronica, with it embedding itself in her torso. She fell onto the ground, with the handgun flying out of her hands and landing in the hallway behind her. Realizing what he has done, Nick rushed over to Veronica, but not kneeling down next to her. Instead, he just stood over her body in shock of what had just transpired. _Oh god, oh god, oh god, I just killed her!_ He exclaimed mentally.

Suddenly, Veronica's eyes shot open. Nick noticed this and quickly jumped over her and bolted down the hall. Veronica sat up, and began scanning the surroundings as the impact from the glass forced her into a reboot. She then looked down, only to see the large piece of glass protruding from her chest. She took hold of the piece of glass and pulled it out, and tossed it to the side.

Veronica's head jerked when she heard the front door slam shut, and heard footsteps from outside. Her target was getting away. She leaped up to her feet and stalked down the hall, stopping to grab her handgun on the way. She wasn't finished with Nick yet.

•••

Meanwhile outside, Nick had rushed to his old 2003 red Nissan Altima and hopped inside. He started the vehicle and backed out of the parking spot, before turning the steering wheel to straighten out. His hand were shaky from what he had experienced several minutes ago. Veronica had a glowing red eye. That wasn't it though; she had just tried to kill him too. Nick wasn't worried about the eye right now. He was focused on gaining as much distance from him and her as he could.

As Nick turned the vehicle to exit the apartment parking lot, his headlights caught the sight of Veronica standing in his way. Nick immediately applied the brakes, with his car coming to a screeching halt.

Both stared at each other for a short moment, with Veronica tilting her head to the side. She then rose her gun again and fired off four shots at Nick. Luckily he ducked just in time, with the bullets only hitting the windshield.

With his head still ducked, Nick switched gears on his vehicle to reverse and began backing away from Veronica. She wasted no time in sprinting at the car with incredible speeds as she dove and landed on the front hood. Nick rapidly turned the steering wheel left and right, trying to shake her off but was unsuccessful at doing so. She was still attached to the hood and began crawling towards him.

What Nick saw was scary. No, not even scary. In fact it was horrifying. The girl that he had a crush on since she had moved in next door was here now trying to kill him for reasons he did not know, with her eyes screaming murder.

Nick opened the door to his car and bailed out of it, with his car still backing up, and Veronica still on the hood. _Thank god that car had shitty handling._

Nick just watched as his only car had crashed into the brick fence and Veronica flying through the windshield. A second later, the red Nissan bursted into flames, with an explosion awakening the night. Nick just sat there on the road, breathing heavily. His mind finally processing what just happened.

Nick shakily rose to his feet and slowly walked to his burned out vehicle. _I-I can't believe I killed Veronica. I can't believe she almost killed me. I'm sorry Vero-_

The last thing he could remember was a large blue ball of light hitting his stomach and him landing on the ground. He couldn't feel anything below his waist except an excruciating, burning pain. With his vision becoming faint, the last things he could see, right now, was the night sky where the moon was shining above him. Then, another thing came into View.

It was Veronica. Except this time she was now completely nude and was covered in cuts and burns. Her long hair covered her chest and her right arm was morphed into a plasma cannon. She just stoically glared at Nick curiously as she studied his condition.

"W-Why?" He breathed, barely able to get a single word out.

His only answer was her placing her foot over his neck and applying immense pressure to it. The sound of his neck breaking from the force and him gurgling blood as he tried gasping for air could be heard. His vision faded into darkness as the last glint of life left his body. He was terminated.

Veronica took her foot off of Nick's body and stalked away, back to her room, where she could change and leave the scene before the police and fire department showed up.

•••

The next day, Sarah, Derek, and Cameron arrived at the apartment complex. It was early morning, and the police had just left. An entire area was blocked off with yellow police tape that restricted anyone from crossing.

The three hop out of the vehicle Jeep and inconspicuously cross the tape, and walk up the flight of stairs that led up to the apartment building. It didn't take much searching, since there were only two rooms that were covered in the yellow tape, so Derek took one room, while Cameron and Sarah take the other.

Once inside the room that Cameron and Sarah had picked, they came into a very clean spotless living room that didn't even have a speck of dust present.

"This has to be it." Sarah muttered, referring to how clean the apartment was.

Derek entered entered the apartment a moment later, shaking his head. "The other room was too messy and had tons of nerdy stuff." Derek informed. "Have any luck in this one?"

"This has to be her safehouse." Cameron nodded. "We should check every inch of this place. She would have hidden anything of value."

"Guess you and the machines have something in common." Sarah mocked Derek. He just scoffed and walked into the kitchen, curious as to what what a Terminator would keep in the refrigerator. Sarah started to search the living room, while Cameron stalked away, into the bedroom.

The bed was a mess which confused Cameron. Usually she and other machines were so neat and clean, almost like a cat. But this bed's covers were thrown all over the place.

The closet was also a mess, with most clothes littering the floor. Cameron knelt down and began to scan everything that was out of place, trying to find what the Terminatrix would've hidden and forgot. It was a long stretch though, considering Terminators never forgot anything.

Cameron felt around the back wall paneling and found a creaves in the right corner. She then pulled the false drywall board off, revealing a small hiding place. Cameron then reached her arm inside, trying to see if the Terminatrix had left anything that they could use to find her.

 ** _SNAP!_**

Cameron tilted her head in confusion as her pain sensors had spiked astronomically, causing her to flinch. She then pulled her hand out of the small hole, finding a bear trap clamped down on her arm.

Cameron tried prying the trap off, but didn't have enough leverage to do so. "Sarah!" She called out calmly.

Sarah and Derek came rushing into the room, searching for the cyborg. Their eyes travel to the floor, where Cameron was sitting, and her dangling the bear trap that was hanging off her arm. She looked like a child who was in trouble. Both couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably.

"Guess the metal got caught with its hand in the cookie jar!" Derek Said between laughs. His side still hurt, but it was worth seeing Cameron in complete distress.

"It's not a cookie jar, it's a bear trap." Cameron deadpanned. "Help me." She then ordered.

After Sarah had her laughing fit, she knelt down in front of Cameron and began to try to pull the trap off of her arm. But so far, no luck. "It's on there pretty tight." Sarah scratched her head confusingly. "Reese, will you give me a hand?" She then asked.

"I think the metal already gave you one." The soldier chuckled again, still taking in the sight of a machine stuck in a trap. It was the funniest thing he had ever seen. Derek stopped laughing when he revived a scowl from Sarah. "Okay, okay, I'll help." He reluctantly agreed and knelt down next to Sarah.

The two began to forcefully pull the trap open, with them applying immense pressure. Finally, after much effort, they had finally freed Cameron's arm, but pulling large chunks of flesh off in the process.

The metal inner servo motors of Cameron's arm could clearly be seen. The sight was enough to make Derek gag at the sight. He knew what she was underneath, but he more preferred to at least have the illusion that she looked like a teenage girl and not just a walking naked endoskeleton. Deep down he would never forget what she was.

"Ew," Sarah grimaced. "That'll heal, right?" She then asked. If Cameron couldn't pass for a human, then she really had no use being around. The cyborg nodded, and stood up from the floor. "We'll have to patch you up when we get home. Perhaps there is something here we can use in the meantime?"

"Hey, what about these?" Derek spoke up. He reached down to the floor and picked up what appeared to be arm warmers. They were black with purple stripes outlined which immediately drew Cameron's attention. She snatched the arm warmers from Derek's grasp and slipped both of them on her arms. "Hey!" Derek angrily spat. "Take something from me like that again, and I won't hesitate to take you apart!"

Cameron ignored the man and knelt back down where she then placed her hand back in the hole of the closet. Luckily there wasn't another trap set, but Cameron couldn't feel anything. It was almost empty.

Then she felt it.

At the very corner of the small hole, something metallic and cold came into contact. It felt round and heavy.

She pulled out the mysterious object, revealing itself to be a T-triple eight skull. It was missing an eye however. Cameron reached back inside the hole and pulled several more pieces of what appeared to be the rest of the endoskeleton.

"What the hell?" Derek scratched his head. "What's metal doing with other pieces of metal?"

"Repairs." Cameron simply answered.

"What do you mean by repairs?" Sarah asked very confused.

"She was damaged. She must of used this triple eight for repairs." Cameron explained. "It's what I would do."

"You're supposed to burn the endos, not save them!" Sarah exclaimed in annoyance. "One unaccounted piece could advance the arrival of Judgement Day!"

"I wouldn't be worth anything if I couldn't repair my systems in the unforeseeable event that I was heavily damaged." Cameron persisted.

"Wait a minute!" Derek shouted, causing both Sarah and Cameron to go silent. "This is the machine that Chloe took down over a week ago!"

"How can you be so sure?" Sarah inquired.

"Chloe blew the thing to hell, and this blast mark on the chest piece proves that." Derek said. "We never had the chance to go back there yet, but I have a feeling we won't have to now."

Suddenly, Cameron's head jolted upwards, startling Sarah and Derek. She heard faint sirens approaching their location. "The police are coming." She monotoned. "The neighbors most likely called the police."

"We need to get out of here." Sarah nodded in agreement. "We can't leave this here either. Is there anything we can carry it in?"

"I found this in the other apartment." Derek mentioned, and pulled a Star Wars backpack off of his shoulders, which he received an unusual glare from Sarah. "What? I liked the movies when I was younger." Sarah just accepted and everyone began to pile every piece of the triple eight endoskeleton into the backpack.

It was almost like someone had attempted to stuff an entire body inside the backpack, causing it to look as round as a beach ball. Cameron had slung the heavy bag around her shoulders and tossed the bear trap at Derek, which he unintentionally caught.

"Ew! Why give it to me?" He asked disgusted. There was still most of Cameron's arm flesh hanging off of the jaws, that made it look like a predatory animal had its prey caught between its teeth.

"We can't leave any evidence behind." Cameron stated.

"Is there anyway out of here?" Sarah then asked no one in particular.

"I saw a window in the kitchen. We can escape through there." Cameron suggested. With no time to further discuss, the trio made a break for the kitchen and climbed out through the window.

•••

 **Author's Note: Yet another chapter! I went crazy with this one because I had no idea on what to write. Even though I'm following a similar story arc to the first season, I still find it hard to keep some form of originality.**

 **I hope you guys noticed that I posted a new chapter on my "Terminator: The Allison Young Chronicles," story arc. I had that chapter floating around for several months and I just had to get it out there. You could even see how my writing style has drastically changed over the past few months I've been writing.**

 **I'm thinking of continuing it as a companion story to "No Fate But What We Make," which will give better insight to the events told in this story. I'm not entirely sure yet, but if I do, then I would gradually update it over time.**

 **Either the next chapter or the one after, will have a one month time jump so I can finally near the end of this random retelling of the first season, and start my own path.**

 **Reviews are appreciated!**


	11. Chapter 11

**I had some confusion over the a few events that happened last chapter, so I'm going to try and explain some misconceptions over my use of "Logic" that I apparently lack. So thank you for who pointed out these mistakes.**

 **The first, was over the scene between Veronica and Nick. Yes, Nick was in a moving vehicle and yes he did jump out of it. He had no seat belt, and I imagined the car he had to be very run-down. The seatbelt was the least of his concerns, and I'm pretty sure opening a door is very possible, considering if he jumps out at the right moment.**

 **Now the second problem some had with the chapter, was the problem with Veronica killing Nick "out in the open." Think back to the original movie for one second, where the T-800 Terminator, had literally almost assassinated Sarah in a nightclub, and broken into a police station; killing dozens of officers in the same process. If you still don't follow my point of view, then also think of Cromartie from the show. He killed several SWAT team members like they were soda cans being shot with an airsoft gun.**

 **The third, was when Sarah, Derek, and Cameron broke into the apartment the next day. Would it be littered with police? Remember the second episode, in which the triple eight had killed three Resistance fighters and they return hours later; at night, where there is already police tape everywhere. The police had already investigated the area and had already sealed it off, so they don't have to go back until it is necessary for more evidence collecting.**

 **Then lastly, is the problem with Chloe and her Terminator doppelganger: Veronica. Yes, it is very likely that she could be easily identified by teachers and other students who watched the news broadcast, but everyone, including the police, believes Veronica Palmer to be partially blind, which Chloe is not, and has much longer hair than Chloe's. If I had a chance to explain in future chapters, I was writing Chloe with her hair tied in a ponytail most of the time. This can alter someone's appearance drastically, because someone who has a blind hazy eye can't really hide that unless they bought colored contact lenses, that in 2007, were either too expensive, or didn't exist at all yet.**

 **Sarah wouldn't let Chloe go unless she believed this, and we know Sarah isn't stupid either. Altering appearances is quite easy, especially at schools today.**

 **That's all the questions that I have to answer. Thank you for the reviews, and let's get a move on!**

 **Terminator: No Fate But What We Make**

 **Chapter 11**

 ** _Los Angeles California, October 1, 2007: (FBI Field Office)_**

 ** _1:11 am_**

James Ellison sat in his desk that was located at the FBI field office, in L.A. Scattered on his desk were multiple documents of one specific case. Or many separate cases that were linked to the one case.

Sarah Connor.

It had been a long night for the agent. So far, it had been one week with no trace, no similar occurrences of the latest case he had taken. Ellison had too much on his plate as it was.

Ellison shuffled the folders around his desk until he came across the photo he'd been searching for. The photo of the blonde woman with the blind eye: Veronica Palmer.

For years, that face had haunted him. For years that face had flooded his mind. He didn't understand who she was, or what she was. Could it have been the machines that Sarah Connor would blab about? Or was it just some criminal that had tried to get even with the known terrorist? _What kind of criminal could take a gunshot to the face anyway?_

Either way, Ellison was at another roadblock. Every time one of these familiar occurrences had happened, he was too late. He needed another plan of approach if he was going to fully understand what was happening. But was he ready to just believe that machines from the future exist? Are they even real? Even with all the evidence that was presented, James still needed definite proof.

"I'm turning in for the night." A voice informed Ellison. The man looked up from the scattered papers, to see Aldridge standing at the doorway, holding his suit jacket on his right arm. "Did you piece any of this together yet?"

"Not yet, but I feel we're close." Ellison simply replied.

"I hope so." Aldridge yawned. "Well, goodnight James." The man bid farewell and walked away.

With no more distractions, Ellison went back to the documents on his desk, and picked up the picture of Veronica.

"Where are you." Ellison muttered as he continued to meticulously study the photo.

 ** _(Unknown Location)_**

Even in a huge, sprawling city such as L.A, there still was those streets that were practically ghost towns. The ones that you would never want to be in at this time of night.

An old gas station sat on the side of a small two lane road. It was dark enough that the building was the only place that could be seen, lit up for miles. There were no vehicles present, all except for one.

Inside of the gas station, a lone man stood behind the counter. He looked like he was in his mid thirties, with black cropped hair, and a light dark skin tone. He was visibly bored and would occasionally drift off into sleep every couple of minutes.

As the man began to drift back into sleep, the sounds of the door entrance bell awoke him. He jolted his head upwards to see who was the strange arrival.

But he couldn't see anyone. The store seemed practically empty. The man shook his head, thinking that he was just hallucinating and slouched back on the counter. He closed his eyes for the longest time, until he felt a strange presence. He hesitantly opened his eyes once again, to see a young blonde woman standing right in front of him. The woman's face displayed no emotion, as she just tilted her head like she was observing him.

"I'm sorry Miss, I didn't see you there." He apologized. "What can I do you for at this hour?" He then asked.

Veronica didn't answer and just placed a bottle of hair dye on the counter. This confused the man as to why this strange woman was at a gas station in the middle of the night, buying hair dye. _Why do we even have hair dye? This is a convenience store for crying out loud!_

The man just shrugged, knowing that this wasn't the weirdest encounter that he's had at this hour of the night. He scanned the bottle and typed it into the cash register. _But still, why would someone buy hair dye at this time of night? Maybe I should report this later._

"Alright Missy, that'll be nine twenty six." Veronica just handed him a fat wad of cash and snatched the bottle, and disappeared outside. "Hey, you forgot your change!"

•••

Veronica stood inside the gas station bathroom, where she was bent over the sink, with her head underneath the faucet. The water was too cold, but she didn't care. It only affected her pain censors very little.

After several minutes, Veronica turned off the water, and rose her head from the sink, where she got a better look at herself.

Her hair was no longer blonde, but now the color black. Her hair was also now much shorter since she had cut most of the length off, using the pocket knife that she constantly carried around.

She looked different. Well, as different as you would look with last minute alterations to your appearance. Being an infiltrator model meant that you had to blend in no matter what. It meant that you couldn't have the police on you because they would just get in the way.

Veronica methodically combed her hair straight and put tons of makeup on, until she was satisfied with her altered appearance. She was able to re-enter the city without the police to worry too much about. But she had to tread carefully. Now, even one mishap, and the whole LA Police force would be targeting her.

Veronica threw away every bit of hair dye that she no longer needed into the waste bin, and walked out of the restroom, and disappeared into the warm night.

 ** _Los Angeles California, October 2, 2007: (Campo de Cahuenga High School)_**

 ** _11:59 am_**

Even with the impending apocalypse on the way in four years, Alex Mathews always did her job. She was undercover as a school nurse to protect John while he was at school. Luckily the job skills that were required for this line of work she had a grasp on, like treating accidental injuries, or cuts bruises. The only thing that was different however was the less need to amputate a limb or treat a plasma burn.

"Okay, there you go." Alex smirked her handy work. She was currently sitting next to a brunette teenage girl in the nurse's office, who was holding her pinky finger. Apparently she had slipped on a chemical spill in chemistry class and fell backwards. She caught herself by trying to use her hands as a cushion and had broken the finger as a result.

"Thank you Miss Baum." The young girl gave her a sad smile. She had redness in her eyes due to the tears from the pain she had endured. Alex knew she had to take a more gentle route and therefore made a splint out of the plastic fork she was using to eat chocolate pudding with only minutes before.

Alex got up off of the chair next to the girl. "I better call your mother to let her know that you're hurt." Alex said and walked to her desk and began to search for the girls number. "What's your name again?" She then asked.

"Abbie." The girl answered. "Abbie Williams."

Alex looked up at the girl with confusion. "Williams?" She inquired confused. "What's your mother's name?"

"Marla," Abbie replied unsure. "Why do ask?"

Alex shook her head and gave the young girl a smile. "Just a familiar name, that's all." _What am I thinking, Amy wouldn't have a daughter. At least, she never mentioned that she had children._

Alex turned her attention back to the computer and started to type the name into the schools roster and instantly found the girl's school profile. Alex called the young teenager's mother and informed her of her daughter's accident and that she'd come and pick her up from school.

Then the door opened, with a familiar face that Alex had came to know over the past few days. Chloe Reese. _Actually it's Chloe Baum now, but whatever,_ Alex thought to herself.

"Hi Alex!" Chloe greeted with a smile and closed the door behind her. "I need to talk to you."

"I'm a little busy right now Chloe," Alex sternly replied. "Shouldn't you still be in class or something?" She then asked.

"Nah, it's almost lunch time anyway." Chloe stubbornly stated, and took a seat in Alex's office chair. "Wow, you get the most comfortable chair in the whole school!" She then added.

"Off!" Alex waved the young blonde away from her chair.

"Okay, okay, fine." Chloe said and stood up. "Hey, aren't you in my English class?" She then asked the teenage girl that was sitting on one of the beds.

"Yeah," Abbie nodded. "You're the new girl: Chloe, right?"

"Bingo." Chloe sarcastically agreed. "Anyway, back to the point!" She then redirected back to Alex. "What's this Halloween costume party that every guy keeps inviting me to?" She asked confusingly.

"You mean the one that everyone is being invited to?" Abbie questioned.

"Yes, that one!" Chloe agreed. "What's halloween though?" She then asked.

"Umm hello, do you live under a rock?" Abbie sarcastically remarked. "Halloween is the time of year where you get to dress up as your favorite person or monster."

Chloe just rose her right eyebrow in confusion. She didn't know what the holiday was.

"Are you like one of those foreigners that don't celebrate any holiday?" Abbie then asked, noticing the confused look that was written on Chloe's face.

Before Chloe had a chance to speak, an old lady walked into the office. "Miss Baum, Mrs. Williams is here to sign Abbie out," the lady informed.

Alex escorted Abbie out into the main lobby of the school and returned moments later, with Chloe still standing in the office.

"So, you wanted to ask me about a halloween party?" Alex scoffed, as she sat down in her chair.

Chloe simply nodded in response. "These guys in my Algebra class kept persisting that I go, but I had zero idea of what it was about," she explained.

"Halloween is an odd holiday." Alex sighed. "I never even knew what it was up until I was seven and I found this calendar in a bunker we were staying in."

"We?" Chloe inquired.

"My brother," Alex simply answered. "He was several years older than me, and he actually would tell me stories about his holiday experiences."

Chloe noticed that Alex started to trail off in her own mind, so she decided to push for more information about her brother. "What happened to your brother?" She asked.

"Same thing that happened to everyone else." Alex sadly said, as her gaze found a sudden interest in the textures of the wooden desk.

"I'm sorry for asking." Chloe said apologetically. She knew that it was something that Alex didn't like talking about, so she didn't push the question any further.

"Don't be," Alex forced a smile. "Anyway, I have all this paperwork that I have to sort and file."

Chloe just nodded. When she stood up from the chair, the school bell rang, signaling the start of lunch. "Another day of hanging out with John and the metal," She sighed audibly.

"Do you have any classes with them?" Alex asked curiously.

"I have no classes with John, but I have one with the machine." Chloe rolled her eyes.

"She a handful?" Alex chuckled mischievously.

"You have no idea." Chloe also giggled. "Anyway, i'll see you later Alex." With that, Chloe left the office, leaving Alex alone to finish up her work.

•••

Chloe walked into the school's cafeteria, where the sight of hundreds of kids could be seen sitting in large groups in over a dozen rounded tables socializing, while some stood in what appeared to be a never ending lunch line.

Chloe scanned the entire room, trying to find the only two people that she had hung out with. _Where is John and the machine at?_

Chloe walked to the far end of the cafeteria, where she saw John and Cameron sitting at the table closest to the Mexican food line, with John eating a chalupa, and Cameron snacking on a small bag of potato chips.

 _Huh. I never knew that the metal could eat. Where does it go anyway?_ "Hey, John," Chloe waved and sat next to in the chair next to him.

"Hi Chloe." John greeted between mouthfuls. He swallowed his food and took a drink from his milk carton before speaking again. "I see you're starting to find your way around more easily," he then added.

"Oh, yeah," Chloe nodded. "This whole place is much more complex than the blueprints that your mother made me study though."

"Sarah can be very hard headed." Cameron nonchalantly spoke in a monotonous voice.

"Hard headed?" John asked. He couldn't help but smile at Cameron's sudden outburst.

"Yes." Cameron agreed. "That's what Alex says."

"I was just talking to her a few minutes ago." Chloe mentioned.

"How is she?" John asked.

"I don't really know. I asked her about her brother, but she seemed to take it hard at the mention of him."

Cameron's eyes immediately shifted back to her snack, as she began to eat more than was necessary for her food consumption. Chloe took notice of this and began to glare at Cameron.

"Huh, I never would've guessed that she had one in the first place." John mused.

"Why do you look so guilty all of a sudden?" Chloe gingerly snapped at the young cyborg. Cameron's eyes shot back up to meet Chloe's glare, so she decided to return the favor.

"What do you mean?" Cameron asked.

"When I mentioned that Alex had a brother, you had the look of guilt written on that fake face of yours." Chloe pointed out.

"At least I don't have the eyes of a golem." Cameron said with a stoic blank expression.

"Golem?" Chloe asked. She wanted to push more information out of Cameron, but now she was confused.

"From Lord of the Rings." Cameron clarified. Chloe still didn't comprehend, but John began laughing uncontrollably.

"What the hell is a Golem!?" Chloe shouted in frustration. _I really need to do research on stuff._

After the laughing in John subsided, he turned to Chloe and gave her a simple explanation.

"So _it's_ comparing me to a small grey gremlin?" Chloe took offensively. John just nodded, while Cameron slid over a napkin to Chloe, with a small drawing illustrated.

It was a hand drawing of Golem.

Chloe fumed in frustration. She didn't like the fact that a machine had just made fun of her. _It's no wonder that dad wants to burn her._

"I didn't even know you were such a geek." John chuckled.

"I don't sleep." Cameron simply reminded.

"You know what," Chloe spoke up angrily. "I'm going to go get lunch. Any of you have a couple of dollars to spare?" She then asked.

John handed Chloe a five dollar bill, which she snatched and stomped away.

John couldn't help but continue to chuckle at his cousin's anger. His cyborg protector had just embarrassed her in front of practically no one, since he, her and Cameron were the outcasts of the school.

 ** _Los Angeles California, October 2, 2007: (Connor Residence)_**

"We don't have time to be hunting the metal," Derek opinionatedly stated. He and Sarah were currently sitting around the dining table in the kitchen, with over a dozen papers scattered on the desk. "It's already been a week now. If we don't find the Turk, then we lose."

"I know that," Sarah tiredly sighed. "But if this thing finds John, then we lose."

"I guess either way we lose." Derek stated. "We need to focus more on the Turk and let the tin can do its job in protecting him." Derek explained.

"Oh, so you're now okay with him being around Cameron." Sarah mocked.

"Don't pester me, Sarah, I still think that thing is dangerous." Derek sneered. "It's only a matter of time before it goes berserk and kills John right in front of you."

"You don't know that." Sarah shook her head unconvincingly.

"And you do?" Derek rose his eyebrow. "Eventually, all machines go bad again, and it's only a matter of time before _it_ does just that."

"Why do you hate Cameron so much? What has she done to you?" Sarah asked.

" _It,_ Sarah and no, it hasn't done anything to me because I had no knowledge that future John even had _it_ around." Derek acknowledged.

 _Wait, what does he mean by he didn't know that she was around? Wasn't she like his bodyguard, even then?_

"So, maybe she came after you left to the past perhaps?" Sarah suggested. It seemed like the safest bet without having to go into detail on the effects of time travel.

"Maybe." Derek nodded in agreement. "Or maybe, he just never flaunted _it_ around."

The two continued to sort through the documents, until the door next to them, opened, with John, Cameron, Chloe, and Alex marching in.

"So, how was school today?" Sarah asked the four, curious.

"I had a kid vomit all over me." Alex annoyingly said, as she placed the keys on the counter.

"What about you John?" Sarah asked her son. It's not that she didn't care for the others, but she more preferred hearing about John's day instead of one of his protectors.

"It was fine, I guess." John replied as he opened the refrigerator. "Cameron chased this guy in gym class because he tackled me in football though." He then said.

"He could have been a possible threat." Cameron monotoned.

"It was part of the game, Cam." John sighed. "He wasn't trying to intentionally hurt me!"

"I still can't believe you have that thing walk around with other kids," Derek mumbled. "It's like having a loaded gun, with the safety off. Eventually, someone is going to accidentally pull the trigger, and someone is going to get hurt."

"Can you leave her alone?" John snapped at the soldier. "She is just trying to protect me! Even if she goes way to far sometimes, she is just fulfilling her mission."

Derek didn't respond. Instead, he just mumbled something about how all metal shouldn't have names or sexual orientations and grabbed a beer from the fridge.

"It's about time that you four got back," Sarah changed the subject. "Me and Derek need the Jeep to go check out this warehouse near the docks."

"We really need a second vehicle." Alex mentioned. "With us having school, and you and Derek out hunting Skynet, we need two sources of transportation." _I really don't want to take the public bus again._

"Take some cash, and go see what you can find," Sarah instructed simply. "But no paperwork, you need to find someone who will take cash and won't ask questions."

"Will do Sarah," Alex mockingly saluted and walked out of the house.

"When do you think she'll realize that the nearest car dealership is almost four miles away?" John chuckled.

"Tin Head will figure it out soon," Sarah smirked. She got up off of her seat and grabbed the keys that Alex had left on the counter. "Me and Derek are heading out. You three stay here, and no leaving the house, got it?" Sarah ordered sternly. John, Cameron and Chloe simply nod, which made Sarah smile in satisfaction. "Good."

Sarah and Derek walked to the door, where they opened it, revealing Alex standing in the doorway.

"Do you think you could drop me off?" Alex asked hopefully. Sarah just sighed but nodded in agreement. With that, the three leave the house, only leaving John, Cameron and Chloe.

Cameron took a seat in the same chair that Sarah was sitting in just moments ago, and placed her book bag on the table.

"What are you doing?" Chloe asked the cyborg.

"Homework." Cameron stated and pulled out her purple binder.

"Why now?" Chloe asked confused. _That's a new one. A machine doing homework._

"I heard from other teachers that it's important to do your homework." Cameron answered stoically.

Chloe just rolled her eyes and looked over at John who was hunched over the counter in the middle, sipping on a glass if orange juice. She then looked back at Cameron, who was writing down the answers to math problems so fast, that she was surprised that the paper didn't start smoking.

Suddenly, an idea popped into her mind. "John, would you help me with my English homework?" Chloe asked John.

"Sure, just take a seat and Cameron can help both of us." John shrugged and went to grab his school bag from the sofa in the living room. But before he had a chance to leave the kitchen, Chloe spoke, making him stop in his tracks.

"No offence, but I'd rather actually learn than have the metal do it all for me." Chloe replied as she turned her gaze at Cameron for a short moment before looking back at John.

"Uhh, okay?" John said unsure. "Let's go to my room then." He then added and started walking upstairs.

As Chloe began to follow him, Cameron noticed that she had a faint smirk written on her face as she had left the kitchen.

 ** _Los Angeles California, October 2, 2007: (Docks)_**

Sarah and Derek sat in the Jeep that was parked in a dark corner, right next to one of the abandoned Warehouses.

"Do you think that the Turk will be here?" Sarah asked, breaking the silence.

"The guy that the metal let _die_ : Dmitri, gave _it_ one of the warehouses where it was said to be shipped to Japan." Derek explained.

"So you talked to Cameron." Derek just simply nodded and gunted at the mention of her name. "So, we go in, and we what? Just find the machine and take it with us?"

"The metal said that the Turk was located in a green shipping container that was labeled Microfoot corporation or something like that." Derek answered. " _It_ also said that it wouldn't be heavily guarded, so we should be in the clear."

"Guess this is the easiest it will ever get then." Sarah muttered and loaded a fresh clip into her Glock handgun.

"Then why are your loading your gun if it's gonna be easy?" Derek mocked.

"Can never be too careful, can we?" Sarah mischievously smirked.

"Point taken." Derek nodded in acceptance and too loaded a fresh clip into his weapon as well. The two hopped out of the vehicle, and slowly started to march towards the entrance of the giant warehouse.

The side door was locked with as huge padlock, which restricted anyone from entering. "In hindsight, maybe we should of brought the _machine_ with us after all." Derek sighed in frustration. They weren't getting in unless they had the key.

Sarah took out a small bobby pin from her hair, and began to fiddle with the lock, while Derek had walked away, to find another way into the warehouse.

As he rounded the building, he heard footsteps nearby and quickly went into hiding. It wasn't that difficult, since he had been hiding for most of his life anyway.

As the footsteps got closer, and eventually got close enough, Derek jumped out of his hiding place and grabbed the man by the shirt collar and smashed his against the crates.

"Do you work here?" Derek asked the man, as he pointed his gun at his temple. The man quickly nodded fearfully and handed Derek the keys. He snatched the keys from the man, and knocked him out with the butt of his gun. "Thanks."

Derek then walked back to where Sarah was at, as the the door opened.

"Yes!" Sarah whispered to herself. She was satisfied with her rusty, yet useful lockpicking skills. She then looked back at Derek who was holding the keys in his hand. "Oh, guess I rained on your parade didn't I?" She smirked.

"Shut up." Derek muttered and stormed inside with his handgun drawn.

Sarah followed and soon after, and closed the door behind her, but also propping it with a brick, just in case they needed a quick exit.

The two walked down the aisles where several shipping containers could be seen, ranging to various colors and sizes. This wasn't going to be as easy as they had originally thought.

"Damn, the _metal_ should've been more specific!" Derek sneered. There were over a several dozen green shipping containers that had the Microfoot logo, stamped on the side as well as hundreds of more crates.

"Shut it Reese!" Sarah sushed the soldier. "We better start searching, if we are going to find it."

Derek nodded and started to walk to the other side of the warehouse in search of the exact shipping container.

Now that Derek was gone, Sarah started at her end, and started to open every green shipping container that could be seen. But so far, there was no luck. Most of the containers contained boxed computers and video game consoles that were of no use.

 _So far, we're not getting anywhere._

Sarah was about to give up on her search, when she decided to look up. On the stacks upon stacks of containers, there was a single green Microfoot corporation container. It was high up however, which she couldn't simply reach by normal means.

"You find anything?" Derek asked, as he returned.

"How are you already done with your section?" Sarah asked surprised. He was only gone for ten minutes.

"No green containers on that side that I could see." Derek informed simply. "What about you? Find anything?" His response was Sarah pointing at the very top of the stacks of containers the where lone one sat. "Damn, how are we even gonna get up there?"

"We could try climbing perhaps?" Sarah suggested.

"I'm still recovering from my gunshot, remember." Derek reminded. "Guess it's going to have to be you that gets up there."

"You're such a gentleman." Sarah sarcastically muttered and tried to grab onto the top of the crate. But it was too high to grab by normal means. "Damn it!" She cursed. "Reese, will you give me a hand?"

Derek agreed and cupped his hands together. Sarah stepped on his hands, and he lifted her up just enough to grab and climb over on top of the container. "Great, now just five more to go!" Derek mocked from ground level.

He received a vulgar hand expression in return.

Sarah managed to climb the remaining container, but with much strain, until she had reached the specific crate that they had came here for. Luckily, there was no lock, so Sarah opened the doors and swung it open.

But there was nothing inside. It was just the same shipments that the other ones had.

"You find anything?" Derek asked, with his voice echoing from down below.

"Just the same shit that was in the others." Sarah tiredly responded. She had wasted too much energy on climbing each shipping container, just to find more video game consoles and computers.

Sarah climbed down the mountain of containers, until she was finally back on ground level.

"What do we do now?" Derek scratched his head in a frustrated manner. _That machine is so getting it later!_

Sarah ignored Derek and began to slowly walk away. Derek followed her until the came to one of the small offices that were located in the warehouse. Derek knew what she had in mind and began to look through various documents of the warehouse; ranging to the employee list; to the company policies.

Sarah searched through the desk while Derek had methodically searched the filing cabinets and bookcases that were inside the office.

"Found something!" Derek informed a little bit to enthusiastically and pulled a large binder out from one of the bookcases. He then placed it on the desk and opened it where he and Sarah began to read it's contents.

"Inventory stock." Sarah mused.

"Exactly." Derek agreed. "Here, it says that two similar shipping containers were sent to these two addresses just a few hours ago."

"So that must mean-"

"That one of them should have our baby Skynet inside." Derek finished.

Sarah grabbed a piece of paper and began to copy down the addresses from the business ledger and put the slip of paper in her back pocket. Derek placed the binder back in the shelf where he had found it, and with that, the two leave the warehouse.

•••

 **Author's Note: I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!**

 **This small Turk hunting storyline is still not finished, so we'll continue on in the next chapter.**

 **And be sure to review. I will be sure to give feedback on any issues that you may be confused with and clear up what I invision when I write each chapter. :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**This chapter will wrap up this small Turk hunting subplot, so I hope you enjoy.**

 **It is possible that this chapter contains some inaccuracies regarding to Armenian culture, such as names and language.**

 **I'm in no way, shape or form Armenian, so I apologize to those who might take offence to this. Instead, PM me, or just leave a review to point out some mistakes, so I can correct them.**

 **Terminator: No Fate But What We Make**

 **Chapter 12**

 ** _Los Angeles California, October 2, 2007: (Connor Residence)_**

 ** _6:25 pm_**

"Okay, so why does Shakespeare use these weird words?" Chloe asked. She and John sat across from each other, on his bed, in his room. "It doesn't even sound like english! I mean; 'Et tu, Brute?' Why can't he just say: 'Screw you Brutus!' instead?"

John chuckled at his cousin's display of humor. He thought it was as adorable when she didn't understand something as much as Cameron. "I wish I knew, but apparently his work are some of the best forms of literature out there."

"Guess I should of traveled back in time to give Shakespeare a piece of my mind then, if he was going to be this huge figure that we'd study." Chloe chuckled.

"Hey, you're the one that wanted to go to school." John pointed out.

"Fairpoint." Chloe sighed.

The two continued to cite quotes from various plays written by Shakespeare, until Chloe shut her notebook and placed it on the side of her.

"What're you doing? We still have to write down some quotes from Othello." John inquired confused.

"Look John," Chloe began, while she brushed her hair behind her ears. "I'm from the future, and you're from the past. You're the future leader of the Resistance, and I'm an engineer from a small outpost from Palmdale."

John snickered confused, not really knowing what to say. "I'm sorry, but what are you saying?"

"I'm saying, that I can offer you far more than the machine can." Chloe stared into John's eyes and began to move closer to him. "I've seen how you stare at _it_ when you think nobody is looking." She whispered seductively. "I bet you have so many fantasies about the metal, don't you?"

John tried backing away from Chloe, but was too slow, and was met with her lips clashing again his. In that short moment John's mind began to race as time seemed almost non existent. Once John felt Chloe's tongue slip into his mouth, reality finally stuck him, and he yanked her away from him.

"What the hell are you doing!?" He exclaimed confusingly and angrily.

"I kissed you." Chloe stated obviously. She then closed in for another kiss, but was unsuccessful when John had jumped off of his bed and stood up.

"No, what are _you_ doing!" John snapped.

"Excuse me?" Chloe asked confused.

"Why did you that?" John persisted. "What made you want to do that? That was entirely uncalled for!"

Chloe's eyes met the ground and a lone tear left her eye. Embarrassment is what you could say what she felt at that moment. She immediately stood up and began to quickly rush out of the room, and slamming the door shut.

John didn't say anything as she left, he only stood there, running his fingers through his hair in frustration.

 _Great job Connor, you just practically told your cousin to get lost. But she kissed me, what was I supposed to do? Just go with it? No, that's just even more stupid._

John fell onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling, confused and distressed at what he should do.

He then heard the door open slowly. John knew who it was that was there. It was his cyborg protector: Cameron. "What do you want?" John huffed. He wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone right now.

"Chloe Reese just left your room angry." Cameron stated obviously. "Did she harm you?"

John just shook his head.

"Oh." She then said and began to close the door.

"I need to ask you something." John said before the door was fully closed. Cameron peeked her head in once again, and gave John her full attention. "Did I have anyone important to me in the future?"

"I don't understand?" Cameron monotoned.

"In the future, was there anyone that I cared about?" John rephrased.

Cameron took a long pause before speaking again. "Yes," She agreed. "Kyle Reese, Alex Mathews, Martin Mathews, and Allison-"

"We're home!" Sarah's voice came from downstairs, interrupting Cameron.

The two left the room, and marched downstairs into the kitchen, where Derek and a very tiring Sarah took a seat.

"How'd it go?" John asked. He could his mother had been sweating a lot in the past hour, while his uncle seemed fine.

"The location didn't have the machine." Derek informed. "But we managed to find a list of two possible locations that we might find it in."

"That means that we have to act fast." Sarah then spoke. "Gather Chloe and Alex. We leave in one hour." She ordered the two.

"Alex hasn't returned yet." Cameron told. "And Chloe is in our room."

John winced at the mention of Chloe. What happened only moments ago was still fresh in his mind, and it ate at him like chum in shark infested waters.

"Still can't believe that my daughter even has a room, when I sleep on a couch." Derek grumbled and took a sip of the beer, that was on the table, that he had left earlier. He then spit it out after tasting something unexpected in the alcoholic drink. "What the hell? What is that?"

"It's your beer." Sarah irritably rubbed the temples of her forehead.

"No, this tastes like like something else!" Derek angrily exclaimed.

"I didn't know who's it was, so I sharpened my pencil shavings into it." Cameron responded with a blank expression, and pointed at her now beer and slobbered homework that was on the counter.

Derek's eyes widened with shock and anger. "You poisoned me?" He rose his voice. "Pencils have lead in them! They can kill me, you metal bitch!"

"Pencils don't contain lead, they contain 90 percent graphite." Cameron corrected.

"Will you two shut it?" Sarah barked. "We need a plan if we're gonna find the Turk, and your bickering won't get us anywhere!"

"So, where are these locations that you mentioned?" John asked, changing the subject.

"Me and Derek already scoped out one, but it turns out that the container was one also a dead end." Sarah explained. "The remaining one seems to be sitting near an old abandoned storage unit facility near Pasadena."

"But here's the thing," Derek began. "The storage is sitting nicely in Armenian gang territory. If the Turk is there, then it's most likely being guarded by thugs."

"Then how do we get to it?" John inquired.

Derek just simply stared at Cameron. "I don't know. Where do we get a killer cyborg from the future, that's impervious to bullets?" Derek sarcastically remarked. Sarah and John instantly knew what he meant.

Cameron's head suddenly waxed out the kitchen window. "There's a vehicle approaching." She informed as she began walking out the back door. John, Sarah, and Derek follow, curious as to what gained the cyborg's attention.

Outside: a jet black 2008, Chevy Tahoe, parked inside the shed. Alex had exited the vehicle, and held out a pair of car keys.

"Look at what I found!" She smiled proudly.

"Wow!" John admired the vehicle. "How'd you get this? This thing is almost brand new!"

"Believe it or not, the guy who sold this to me, said that it was in a movie as a stunt vehicle, but was never used, so they were gonna scrap it." Alex explained.

"What's wrong with it?" Derek asked, as he popped the hood open to take a better look.

"Well, let's just say, that it's a bad idea to take it over 150 miles an hour." Alex clenched her teeth nervously.

"Why?" Sarah crossed her arms.

"Because the salesman said that even though the movie people took out the ignition switch, it's possible that it could explode if too much speed is applied." Alex acknowledged to the older woman. "But, hey, it was only six grand."

"You just bought a death trap that could potentially harm everyone, including my son _for_ six grand?" Sarah shouted in confusion.

"Uhh." Was that Alex could say. "But six grand is cheap, isn't it?"

"I think, I can fix it." Derek spoke up, after studying the vehicle. "I've taken apart way more messed up cars and put them back together, so this'll be no problem."

"Good," Sarah said relieved. "Might as well just hand you a gun, and ask you to shoot John at this point." She then muttered to herself and stormed back in the house to get ready for tonight's mission.

 ** _Los Angeles, California, October 29, 2007:_**

 ** _Pasadena, 3 Hours Later: 9:56 pm_**

Hours went by, as everyone now sat in the brand new SUV that Alex had bought. Sarah and Alex were in the front, while John and Derek in the two back seats, followed by Cameron and Chloe in the last set of seats.

In front of them, was an old storage facility, that appeared to be abandoned for quite some time. The rows upon rows of slide up doors were rusted badly, and the concrete was overgrown with vegetation.

Derek peered over Sarah's shoulder with binoculars, as he studied the area.

"What do you see?" Alex asked. Everyone had been sitting in the same position for awhile now, and she was beginning to feel awkwardness

"I see two snipers on the north and east sides of the storage units, and several more crowded around our container." Derek described.

"Too many we can't handle?" Sarah simply asked.

"None that the machine can't handle." Derek responded, not taking his sight away from the binoculars.

"What? No, we aren't just sending Cameron in there as a bullet sponge!" John protested. Derek took his gaze from the binoculars and looked at John, only seeing a the serious look that was engraved on his face.

Derek scoffed. "That's all they're good for John, they kill and can take an entire clip like a slap with a napkin." Derek argued. He thought it was just stupid and dumb to be protecting such an evil creation.

"Well, she's different, and I'm not sending her out there just to get damaged over a stupid chess computer that may or may not be there." John persisted. Behind him he could hear Chloe scoff audibly but decided to ignore it for now. The mission was the priority.

"Then what do you suggest, _Great General?_ " Derek mocked.

"By the looks of it, we're not getting to that container without a firefight ensuing." Alex stated, as she looked through the binoculars that Derek was using only moments ago. "Maybe a diversion?"

"Exactly what I was thinking." Sarah agreed. "But how do we draw those guards away?" She then asked. They had a general plan, but no way of executing it.

As everyone discussed possible ideas on how to make this plan fall through, an idea struck Derek, as he gazed at Alex through the rear view mirror. "I have an idea." He smiled mischievously.

•••

 _I am so going to kill to Derek later!_ Alex mentally threatened. She was now walking up to the main gate, where two men were standing guard. The men were tall and muscular, and wore black track jackets. If their posture didn't give them away, Alex could have sworn that they looked like the old _T-800_ models.

Alex took a deep breath and took out a pocket knife that Cameron had gave her. She flicked it open, and in one fluid motion, she thrusted it into her abdomen, causing her to squeal.

 _This better heal, or I'm gonna need a new kidney._

Alex pulled the blade from her stomach area an tossed the knife to the side. She then began limping very hastily towards the men, and put a terrified, yet innocent look on her face.

"Help!" She screamed in panic. "Please help me, someone just robbed me!" _Good job Alex, play the damsel in distress._

One of the men saw Alex approach them, and saw her injury in the darkened light. He rushed to her aid, as Alex purposefully tripped onto the ground. The other man just spoke in his radio and began to cautiously walk over to Alex and his partner, as he pulled out a handgun from his track jacket.

"What happened here?" The man asked in a heavy accent. Alex wasn't too sure what kind of accent it was. She didn't know Armenian and it sounded very similar to Russian, so she just stuck with that assumption. "Speak!" He shouted furiously.

"I-I was getting off of work, and… and someone stabbed me and stole my car." Alex stuttered. It was a lie, but the men seemed to take into consideration of what she was going through, because of the tears that were trailing down her face.

 _In hindsight, maybe Cameron should have done this._

"She's losing blood." The first man said. "Davros, go retrieve Keran, she'll know what to do." Davros hesitantly nodded and left to go get a doctor.

The man looked back at Alex, but was met with a stern kick to the face that knocked him down instantly. Alex used her legs and wrapped them around the man's head, until the lack of oxygen had succumbed and he passed out.

Alex stood up and dragged the man's body behind a dumpster. She then pulled out a small flashlight, from her jeans pocket, and clicked it on and off three times.

Out of the shadows, Derek, Cameron, John, Sarah, and Chloe, come rushing up to Alex's position, fully armed.

"Good job Tin Head." Sarah admired.

"Okay, so now we need to get inside before the other one return-"

Alex's explanation was cut short, when the other man: Davros, and an unknown woman had exited through the gate and came face to face with them.

But before the man could draw his weapon again, Cameron had grabbed and snapped his neck within seconds. The woman shrieked in horror, and started backing away from Cameron, while rambling in an unfamiliar language that no one understood.

Sarah cupped the woman's mouth with her hand. "Shhh!" She hissed.

The mysterious women looked no older than thirty at most. She had a light dark skin complexion, complete with pale green eyes and wavy jet black colored hair.

The woman managed to somewhat calm down, as Derek began binding her hands with zip ties. She didn't seem dangerous, but it didn't hurt to be extra cautious.

"Who are you?" She asked in a heavy accent, as she gazed at everyone. It confused her that three of the people who had taken her hostage, looked no older than sixteen at most.

"We ask the questions around here." Derek sneered from behind. "Now, we ask the same question. _Who are you_?"

"My name is Keran Azadian. I'm a veterinarian." The woman answered Derek's question.

"What are doing here then?" Derek inquired confusingly. He wondered why they would keep a veterinarian; some who works on animals for a living. It didn't make sense.

"These assholes… they kidnapped me and held me here for several months now." Keran explained. She began to quietly sob, as her head had sunk to look at the ground.

Sarah now felt pity for the woman. She knelt down and used her hand to bring Keran's face to meet hers. "What did they make you do in there?" Sarah asked worryingly. She couldn't imagine the possibilities that this woman might of suffered.

"They… they made me operate on their wounded. Sometimes, they'd even make me torture young men and women who…" Keran began to shed more tears, as recent memories began to resurface.

"This is just sick." Derek muttered. It gave him even more motivation to take down this gang. "I say we go in there and have the metal kill every last one of them."

"We can't just go in there blind and filled with rage, because of the horrible things that they've done." Sarah sighed. She then looked back at the woman. "Can you help us get inside?" She then asked Keran.

"I-I don't want to go back in there!" Keran pleaded. "Please don't make me go back in there!"

"I know, I know you don't want to go back in there." Sarah reassuring put her hand on Keran's shoulder. "But if we are going to make these men pay, then we need your help."

"You said, that you've been with the Armenians for several months now. How much trust do they have in you?" Cameron said blankly.

"They trust me enough to work on their men and torture information out of their enemies." Keran answered. "I'd say they trust me enough to walk freely around the place."

Good." Derek grumbled. "Then you can take this one," He motioned at Alex. "Inside, as a prisoner, and say that you're gonna torture her for information."

Alex glared daggers at Derek. This was the second time that he had put her up to a task, and he didn't even know what she was yet.

 _It's almost like he wants me to get killed._

"I can't do that." Keran shook her head. "They watch me when I torture victim. They think of it as sick form of entertainment. I can't do that to anyone else. I refuse to do that to anyone else."

"What about me?" Cameron spoke again, gaining everyone's attention.

"I can't torture another innocent girl such as yourself." Keran argued further.

"Don't worry, she has a very high tolerance to pain." John chuckled.

Keran was now even more confused as to why they were putting a young teenage girl up to a task like this. But if it meant taking down this gang, it was probably worth aiding them.

"Okay." Keran hesitantly agreed. "I'll help."

•••

 _In torture room, there is a breaker box that is connected to whole area. If I can convince them to let me torture your friend, then I can find someway to disable it. When lights shut off, that's when you attack._

The gate opened, and Keran walked in with a wounded looking Cameron, being supported by her arm around Keran's shoulders. Derek and Sarah had repeated the same wound that Alex had inflicted onto herself just moments ago, now onto Cameron's abdomen to give the same story better effect if suspicion arose.

One of the other men had approached her to see the new arrival.

"Who's this, Keran?" The man asked.

"She was found outside by your men, Abaven." Keran answered. "She said she was injured, but I think otherwise."

"And why do think that?" Abaven inquired.

"Because I found this on her." Keran said, and handed Abaven a Glock 17 handgun. The man took the weapon from her grasp and inspected the weapon by removing the clip and checking the chamber.

The man seemed suspicious, but eventually he nodded in acceptance. "Take her to 243." Abaven ordered.

Keran nodded and dragged Cameron away. The two made their way down the storage containers, where they approached one labeled "243" on it.

"This is where they make me torture others." Keran whispered. "I hope you and your people know what they are doing."

"We always know what we are doing." Cameron monotoned.

Keran opened the storage unit, where it revealed a single metal chair in the middle, next to a table with various blood instruments. The left wall inside the small unit was knocked down to make more room where people could potentially watch.

Keran guided and sat Cameron into the chair. She then used rope to tie her arms and legs to the metal chair, until her movement was very limited to just her head. On Cameron's right, she could see two men enter the other unit, where they began to watch Keran get to work. On her left, was the very breaker box that controlled the whole area's power.

On the table, Keran picked up the least painful instrument that would cause physical and mental damage: A syringe with various unknown drugs inside.

"That won't work on me." Cameron pointed out to the Armenian woman.

"Oh?" Keran responded confused. "Then what would?" She whispered.

"Nothing would work," Cameron stated. "Maybe the jumper cables?" She suggested. Keran looked at the men, in which they just replied with an unsure shrug. She did as Cameron suggested, and grabbed the jumper cables from under the table, and set them on the table. She then retrieved a large car battery from the other side of the room, and heaved the heavy object onto table as well.

Keran spent a few minutes connecting the cables to the battery, while occasionally gazing towards the breaker box that was on her right. She just needed to get to it, and turn off the power.

"Will you hurry it up, I gotta take a piss!" The first man shouted in frustration. The sudden outburst caused Keran to fumble the cables and drop them to the ground.

The man had enough of the stalling and walked towards Keran just as she stood up again and slapped her in the face, which caused her to fall back onto the floor.

Cameron only observed as the man stood over Keran in a threatening manner. She concluded that he was the man in charge due to his display of dominance against the rest of the men and Keran for that matter.

Luckily, the man was standing right in front of Cameron, as he was shouting insults at her in Armenian, so he was very distracted at the moment.

On his left wrist, was a gold watch that Cameron could instantly tell, wasn't real gold. Instead, it was mainly composed of aluminum and bronze that was painted in a gold color.

There was only one thing to do when things went south so quickly because of a nervous hostage.

Cameron broke from her binds that held her in the chair, and grabbed the jumper cables from the table, and hooked them to the man's watch. The result, was sparks flew everywhere, and the man went flying backwards, as the high voltage had practically fried him. She then grabbed a kitchen knife from the table and threw it at the other man, with it impacting his the chest, killing him instantly.

With the two threats neutralized, Cameron rushed to the breaker box and used all of her strength to force open the latch and crush the paneling in.

The entire room was engulfed in darkness.

•••

Already in position, Sarah and John were perched on the top level of a car parking lot, with Sarah wielding a Armalite AR-50. When the lights had shut off, she had used already fired at one of the snipers that were on the east side, but only hitting him in the leg.

Derek, and Chloe who were on the mid-level of an abandoned apartment complex had fired at the north sniper, killing him as a result.

Sarah peered through the scope,and with much strain due to the lack of light, she found Alex rushing inside, armed to the teeth.

With some of the resistance lifted off of Cameron and Alex, all they had to do was provide cover fire.

•••

Cameron lifted the storage shutters and stalked outside, where she was already met with gunfire impacting her torso.

With no weapon, Cameron just continued to stalk up to the group of men, while shrugging off the gunfire, and grabbed one's assault rifle.

Now armed, Cameron used the remaining ammo that was in the rifle, and open fired on the men, with some instantly going down. The remaining twelve men went rushing into cover behind vehicles and concrete roadblocks.

"Hey, Cameron!" A voice called rushing up to her. She turned her head to see Alex sprinting up to her while concentrating fire at the men.

When she was close enough, Alex too went into cover behind a vehicle, wanting to avoid any potential damage. Cameron however, was still standing in place, firing off her rifle at the men.

 _I really gotta teach her to take cover._

"Will you get your metal ass over here, and stop being target practice for these assholes?" She shouted at the cyborg. Cameron tilted her head in confusion, but agreed and rushed behind the vehicle where Alex was at. "Now look at you!" She pointed at her bullet riddled chest. "I am not taking those out you know."

"I can do that myself." Cameron glared.

Alex just rolled her eyes. Then something else came to mind. "Where's the Russian chick?" She asked.

"She's Armenian." Cameron corrected. "I left her inside the storage unit."

"Okay, good." Alex nodded in acceptance. "I thought you killed her."

"I did kill her."

Alex jolted her head to look back at Cameron with her eyes widened in surprise and frustration.

"I fooled you again." Cameron gave a ghost smirk, and went back to firing at the enemies.

Alex sighed in relief. _Note to self: Teach Cameron how to make an actual joke instead of whatever sick twisted humor that was._

Alex put aside the conversation for now and rose to fire at the men, managing to hit one in the cheek, but being grazed along her shoulder as well. "Damn, that stung!" She grimaced.

After unloading clip after clip, and with the aid of two snipers covering them from two angles, Cameron and Alex had managed to take down every thug. Most of which had retreated after running low on ammo and fleeing the scene before they were next.

All except for one.

The remaining man had a wounded leg, and was crawling away, while leaving a noticeable blood trail along the way.

"Hey shit head, where do you think you're going?" Alex mocked as she grabbed the man by the back of the shirt and slammed him against the hood of one of the vehicles.

The man was fearful at how Alex just grabbed him like a small puppy and put him in his place.

At that moment; John, Derek, Sarah and Chloe came walking inside, where Derek handed his rifle to John and undid the latches of the green shipping container.

Together, he and Cameron opened the doors, and took a peek at what was inside. What they expected to find was the complete opposite. Instead, it contained two foreign sports cars, that were illegally shipped from another country.

"Son of a bitch!" Derek angrily exclaimed and slammed his fists on the hood of the first sports car. "All of this protection just to protect two shitty cars?"

"Huh, that was unexpected." Alex muttered. She turned her attention back to the bleeding thug and pulled out her SIG P226 Sauer and aimed it at the man's head. "Where is it?" She barked.

"Where's what?" The thug asked confused. "I don't know what you're saying lady!"

Derek had enough of games and went up to Alex. "Where is the Turk!" He shouted furiously.

The man still kept his mouth shut, in favor for chuckling. "Cameron?" Alex inquired, gaining the cyborg's attention. "Will you be a dear and get this gentleman of ours to talk?"

Cameron nodded blankly and took Alex's place. Without even threatening the thug. Cameron just grabbed his wrist and snapped it backwards, causing the man to wail out in pain.

"I'd start talking, or _it'll_ do way worse than a broken wrist." Derek highly suggested. The man nodded hastily and began to spoke.

"We moved the chess computer!" The thug began. "Our boss said that it was too valuable to be kept in storage and told us to remove it!"

"Where is now?" Cameron tilted her head in a menacing manner. For added insurance, she took hold of the other wrist and began to apply pressure to it.

"Okay, okay!" The man responded. "Our boss came here and took it personally! Nobody ever sees him unless they agree to death first, so it was surprising for us to actually meet him!"

"And who is your boss?" Sarah asked. Again, for extra effect, Cameron began to apply pressure to his wrist.

"Sarkissian!" The man shouted in fear. "His name's Sarkissian!"

"Sarkissian." Cameron repeated. "Dmitri mentioned that name before he died."

"Thanks for telling us." Derek sarcastically remarked, and turned his attention back to the thug. "Where is this _Sarkissian_ now?"

"I can't say, or he'll kill me!" The thug stammered.

"And if you don't, she'll kill you." Derek said, motioning his head at Cameron. "I guess either way it's a lose, lose situation. So I suggest you tell us and maybe you'll live a bit longer."

The man could see the serious in every single one of their eyes. "Fine." He reluctantly spoke. "I don't know where he is, but we have a number that we call."

The man gave them the phone number, and Cameron recorded it into her memory banks for later use.

"Alright. We got the number, ease off Cameron." John reassuringly said to his protector. She complied and released the man from her grasp.

"We should kill him," Cameron opinionatedly stated.

"We're not killing anyone." Sarah declared.

"We already killed most of everyone here." Cameron countered Sarah's statement, referring to the dozens of bodies that were lying everywhere. "He's seen our faces. What if he informs Sarkissian that we want the Turk by any means necessary?"

"Because that's not how we handle things," John argued. "He's unarmed, therefore he is harmless."

"The machine's right." Derek agreed with Cameron. Everyone looked at Derek with a confused expression as to why he would agree with such a violent solution, especially when it was Cameron's idea. He usually hated her and would find every excuse to poke at her with a stick. "We can't afford to have a trail lead back to us. It's too dangerous."

"I'll take care of him," A voice spoke from behind all six of them. They all turned to look behind them. It was Keran. "This is the Tsitsikavor that kidnapped me and forced me to torture all those poor innocent souls."

Derek and Sarah shared a short concerned glance for a brief moment, but eventually agreed to Keran's request. Sarah handed her a pocket knife before they bid farewell, and walked away, back to the SUV.

"Do you think she has what it takes to take a man's life?" Derek asked as they neared the vehicle.

"If she can torture women and children and still have a hint of sanity left, then yeah." Alex nodded and hopped in the driver's seat.

"That's what worries me." Sarah muttered. She had an off feeling about Keran, but at least they would never have to see her again. She would probably go back to a normal life as a veterinarian again or maybe have to go through some form of therapy or something.

With everyone inside the vehicle, Alex started the engine and sped away from the scene.

Keran watched as their vehicle disappear around the corner, as she held the very knife that she was given by Sarah, that was now dripping with blood.

She reached inside her jeans pocket and pulled out a cell phone, where she punched in several numbers and put the device up to her ear. The line rang for a long moment before someone on the other end answered.

" _Barev?"_ A male voice inquired over the line.

"Sarkissian, it's Keran." She announced in a serious tone.

" _Ah, Keran! What do you have for me? Is there problem?"_ Sarkissian asked.

"Ayo, A big one."

•••

 **That concludes the Turk hunting for at least a little while.**

 **It was a scene that I looked over and over again to find any inaccuracies. The location was pretty much made up, since I needed a secluded area with enough high ground for our characters to provide support.**

 **Now we saw that Chloe had revealed that she has feelings for John (Who is her cousin). Guess that will be an interesting plot point to explore in the future. Who knows, maybe John will be faced with revealing one of of his biggest secrets.**

 **I also know that some of you are really disappointed of the lack of Jameron in this story. I'm trying to tell a different story, so I'm not focusing too much on that right now.**

 **Before that can happen, Cameron needs to grow as a person, so I need to build up her character to meet those qualifications in order for her and John to become something more.**

 **I know, why would there be a breaker box in one of the storage units? It seems pretty dumb right? Well, for the sake of this story, there is one in that very storage unit.**

 **For those who need translations to the Armenian dictionary words (Which most of you probably need) here you go:**

 **Barev- Hello**

 **Ayo - Yes**

 **Tsitsikavor - Asshole**

 **(Note) These are probably wrong, considering I used Google Translate for this, so again, I apologize for any inaccuracies and please let me know of any mistakes.**

 **Reviews are appreciated!**


	13. Chapter 13

**When writing this chapter, I just realized something. It has already been 10 years since the show was first aired. Well, in all actuality, it has already been over two months since the anniversary of the show, so I guess I'm late to the party.**

 **I still can't believe a show that was this great was cancelled. It was one of the biggest mistakes that Fox has ever made, because even as the show ages, the number of fans get bigger and bigger by the day.**

 **But thanks to us (the fans), we can continue its legacy through stories such as this one. Because even when a show dies, it will always live on inside of us.**

 **Anyway, before I get too sidetracked, let's get moving forward with this chapter!**

 **Terminator: No Fate But What We Make**

 **Chapter 13**

 _ **Los Angeles, California, October 29, 2007: (Connor Residence)**_

 _ **8:14 am**_

It was yet, another beautiful Monday morning. The sun had shown through the curtains and the birds chirped outside. If John didn't already hate Mondays, he would be enjoying the atmosphere that the morning held.

"John, get your butt down here or you'll be late for school!" His mother loudly shouted from downstairs.

John quickly jolted up, and he looked at his alarm clock for the time. He was surprised to find out it wasn't on for some reason and he began to follow the cord to the outlet behind his desk. It was unplugged.

John plugged the clock back into the outlet and looked back at the clock. It was already fifteen minutes past eight and school started in twenty minutes.

He quickly jumped out of bed and picked up the closest pair of jeans and T-shirt from the floor that he could reach and threw them on. He then put on his shoes and rushed out of his room, to the bathroom.

When he neared the bathroom, he reached for the doorknob and turned it, only to find that it is locked. Inside, he could hear the sink running, so he decided to knock.

"Can you please hurry it up Alex!" John bashed on the door irritably. There was a long moment of silence, before he heard the door unlock, and opened, revealing someone else. His cousin Chloe.

She had an angry look on her face. As she just glared at him. John was at as loss for words. For the past several weeks, he and Chloe hadn't spoke to each other, let alone look at each other since what happened. Since she had randomly kissed him and he had acted so harsh about the whole thing.

Since John hadn't said anything, she took his silence as an answer and slammed the door in his face.

Now John felt dumb for not saying anything. "Can you at least give me my toothbrush?" He asked from the other side. His response was the door opening and a toothbrush hitting his face before the door slammed shut again.

John picked up the toothbrush from the floor and examined it. Sure enough, it wasn't his. Instead it was Cameron's.

"This isn't mine!" He shouted.

With no answer, John just sighed defeated and walked downstairs, still carrying Cameron's toothbrush with him.

Once downstairs, he walked into the kitchen, where his mother was making pancakes while Derek and Alex sat at the table, scarfing down an entire stack.

"There you are, I almost thought you I'd have to go pull you out of bed." Sarah mockingly said with a smirk. "Anyway, I made you pancakes." She then said and handed him a fresh stack. He reluctantly took it and placed it down on the table where Derek and Alex were sitting at.

"We really need a second bathroom." John groaned tiredly and held up the purple toothbrush for everyone to see.

"What's going on now?" Sarah crossed her arms.

"I don't know!" John lied. "Chloe has been acting different for the past few weeks."

"Do you know what you did to piss her off?" Derek asked between mouthfuls of the slightly over cooked hot cakes.

"Uhh, I don't know. Why?" John inquired.

Derek set down his fork and took a long drink of his water before speaking. "When she's pissed, she has… well let's say she has a tendency to make someone's life a living hell," Derek tried explaining. "This one time, there was this kid in our base. He was like fifteen, or something at the time, and he _loved_ to pick on Chloe. So one day, he woke up to to find out that his all of his clothes were set on fire."

"And _Chloe_ did that?" John asked.

"She did reak of gasoline for an entire month, so yeah." Derek chuckled.

At that moment, Cameron came stalking into the kitchen, with her book bag slung around her shoulders. She idly stood near the counter until it was time to leave, as she observed her surroundings. She noticed that John was holding her toothbrush in her hands which caused her great confusion.

"John, why are you holding my toothbrush?" Cameron inquired.

"Chloe threw it at me." John answered and tossed it to her. She unsurprisingly caught it and placed it on the counter in front of her.

"We should leave right now if we are to get to school on time." Cameron mentioned in a blank tone.

Alex nodded and stood up from her seat and put her empty plate in the sink. She then grabbed her purse that was on the counter and slung it around her shoulders.

"Is Chloe ready?" Alex asked no one in particular.

"Yup." Chloe spoke up as she marched through the kitchen already having her book bag and pushed past Cameron and John.

Now with Chloe already outside, Alex and Cameron follow as John grabbed his bag from the chair and lazily put it on.

"Good luck." Derek chucked, and gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder before placing his plate in the sink and walking out of the kitchen. John sighed heavily, knowing that today was going to be a long day.

 _ **Los Angeles, California, October 29, 2007: (Campo de Cahuenga High School)**_

 _ **8:26 am**_

After arriving at school, John went to his locker to retrieve his chemistry book for first hour. As he closed his locker, he was greeted with an all too familiar face that he had come to known for the past month. Someone who he somewhat considered a "normal" friend, and not a family member or machine protector.

"Hey John!" Morris greeted in an enthusiastic tone.

"Hey." John smiled, and gave him a high five. The two began to walk down the hallway, towards John's class, conversing to each other. Morris was like John in some ways. He was an outcast. Despite Morris' lack of survival skills and never having to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, John actually felt comfortable talking with Morris.

"So, man, I gotta ask you," Morris began. "Are you coming to that Halloween party tonight?"

"Halloween party?" John scratched his head in confusion. He had heard some rumors of an Halloween party, but he just ignored it.

"Yeah, you know, the one that everyone's been invited to?" Morris said, hoping that John would catch on. But John was still confused.

"Where's it at?" He then decided to ask, since he barely even knew about it anyway.

Morris stopped John in his tracks and turned to him. "Okay, get this." Morris whispered. "It's up in this lavash mansion in Beverly Hills, and _guess_ who's hosting it." Before John had a chance to answer, Morris spoke again. "Cherie Westin."

"What?" John scoffed unconvincingly. "There's no way that she would be throwing a party." Out of everyone in the entire school, Cherie seemed like the more shy girl in class. The type that would never just throw a party. This confused John greatly.

"No, I'm serious man!" Morris persisted. "People say her dad is out of town on a business trip or something, and she has the house to herself for the next week."

John contemplated this idea, thinking that it was too good to be true. _It would give me a chance to finally get to know Cherie without all the stress from school and her father looming over her._

"Okay." John shrugged in agreement. "What time?"

"Like six- six thirty or something like that." Morris responded unsure. John nodded and began to walk away, before Morris spoke again. "Oh, John, hey. Is Cameron going to be there?" He asked curiously.

 _Well there is another roadblock. How am I going to get past her?_ "I don't know." John truthfully admitted. "I guess I could ask."

"Thanks man!" Morris said happily. "You're the best!"

Morris walked away, to his class while practically skipping in excitement. _Only if he knew what she actually was,_ John chuckled at his mental remark.

Once inside his class, sure enough, Cameron was the first one sitting down in her assigned seat in the Chemistry classroom. John walked to his seat, which was behind Cameron, and set his bag on the counter.

"What were you talking to Morris about?" Cameron inquired curiously.

John turned his head and let out a sigh. "He was just wondering if we were going to that Halloween party tonight." He answered.

"That's a bad idea." Cameron questioned.

 _Yup, here it goes._ "Why is that a bad idea? I mean, it would help you _acquire_ better skills in your infiltrating."

"Whose party is this?" Cameron asked.

"Cheries," John informed.

"It's a bad idea." Cameron repeated in a monotonous voice.

Before John could argue further, Cherie came walking into the room, where she took a seat next to John. The two shared a brief smile before John glanced back at Cameron and found her observing them with her head tilted.

 _Later I'll have to convince her._

 _ **Los Angeles California, October 29, 2007: (Connor Residence)**_

The ride home was silent. Neither Cameron nor Alex spoke a single word when they had noticed that John and Chloe remained quiet. The whole way, they just took to staring out the window in a brooding fashion. As Alex pulled the Jeep up to a stop across the street from the safehouse, Chloe was the first to hop out and make her way to the house. A moment later, John followed soon after.

Now Cameron and Alex were all who remained inside the Jeep, as their eyes were locked onto the house in confusion.

"What is up with those two?" Alex asked perplexed.

"I don't know." Cameron truthfully admitted. "John and Chloe seem to be acting like bitch whores."

"Yeah, I figured that out, earlier this morning." Alex agreed. "But I think you've used the term wrong."

"Oh."

Alex and Cameron got out of the vehicle, and crossed the street to the safehouse.

"Chloe is a bitch whore." Cameron blankly said, as Alex opened the front door.

"Hey you two." Sarah greeted as she strolled into the living room and took a seat on the couch. Cameron closed and locked the door, and the two set their belongings on near the door. "So, how was school today?" She then asked.

This caught Alex by surprise, as she rose her head to look at the eldest Connor sitting on the couch with a relaxed expression on her face.

"John and Chloe are fucking pissed at each other." Cameron answered and left the room. Alex was left alone to answer today's crimes that she wasn't keen on answering or even knew in the first place. _I really have to teach that machine to stop being so weird._

"Uhh-"

"Okay, so do you mind telling me what's going on between those two?" Sarah interrupted.

"I don't really know for sure." Alex shrugged her shoulders. "All I know, is that they have been acting weird for the past couple of weeks."

"I've noticed that too." Sarah nodded. "But what happened?"

"Maybe you should ask your son?" Alex strongly suggested.

"Please, trying to get that boy to talk is like pulling teeth." Sarah scoffed. "I was hoping that one of you could talk to him."

"I'm not exactly good with those kinda conversations." Objected Alex.

"I'll talk to him." Cameron spoke up from the hallway. Without another word from Sarah and Alex, she turned on her heels, and walked upstairs, and pushed past Derek.

"Jeez, you send the metal to kill one of them?" Derek inquired over seeing Cameron's determined persona as she pushed upstairs.

"She is going to see what is going on between those two." Sarah answered Derek question. "Maybe you should talk to Chloe about what's going on."

"Please," Derek scoffed. "Trying to get her talking is like trying to take down an Ogre Tank with a toothpick."

"You two have _zero_ control over your kids." Alex mumbled and walked into the kitchen.

Derek glanced at Alex for a brief moment before turning his head to look at Sarah. "So, what's the plan on the Turk?"

"I don't know yet." Sarah irritably rubbed her eyes. "We haven't gotten a lead since the number that the thug gave us."

"Then why don't we call?" Derek obviously suggested.

"If we call, then he'll most likely move it." Sarah explained. "We need the element of surprise if we're going to get our hands on that machine."

"That's the thing Sarah. We don't know where they are holding it." Derek pointed out. "I think we have no choice but _to_ call."

Sarah didn't respond, instead, she contemplated this idea for a long moment before answering. "We'll see. I need to think this over."

Derek nodded in acceptance, and stood up. "Don't think too long. The more time that we waste, the closer we approach Judgement Day."

•••

John sat at his small desk in his room doing some last minute homework. He had his laptop open and was reading through some online articles, while writing some notes down in his spiral notebook.

The past few weeks have been hard on John, ever since his own cousin had randomly kissed him and was heartbroken that he had gotten angry. John didn't know what to do exactly, he didn't blame her either. How could he? The one secret that he was never allowed to share with anyone had became his worst enemy. He couldn't tell his own flesh and blood they were family, and instead had to hide the truth from them.

But John wasn't stupid. He knew that the more people that knew his secret, the more in danger he was in at someone getting hold of that information.

In frustration, John slammed shut his laptop and put his head into his hands and groaned tiredly. Even when the door slowly opened, he didn't remove his hands from his face. By the way that whoever had entered the room in a cautious way, he knew exactly who it was.

"What do want?" John inquired still not looking up.

"You're angry." Cameron stated the obvious. She closed the door and walked across the room, and took a seat on John's bed in the straightest posture.

"Yeah, so?" John huffed. "What is it to you, you're just a machine. Since when did you care if I'm pissed or not?"

"When you're _pissed_ , that can cause stress. Large amounts stress can lead to health problems." Cameron explained. "That affects my mission to protect you."

"So what?" John shrugged his shoulders. "You're like a therapist now?"

Cameron tilted her head in confusion.

John rolled his eyes, knowing that she didn't understand his sarcasm. "It means, are you here to help me with my problems."

Cameron returned her head back upright. "Thank you for explaining." She said in her soft yet monotone voice. "But no, I don't know how to help you with your problems, but I can listen."

"Okay, then." John sighed and turned in his chair to sit opposite of Cameron.

"A couple of weeks ago, Chloe… she well." John didn't know how to exactly explain it to Cameron in a way that she'd understand. At least in a way that wasn't outright. "She kissed… me."

John noticed that Cameron's posture had stiffened more than usual when he had said that, but he wasn't sure what it exactly was.

 _Did she actually react to this, or was she just adjusting her back to be more comfortable? Who am I kidding, she doesn't feel comfort._

"Chloe Reese was showing signs of attraction towards you during the first couple of weeks that she and Derek had been staying here." Cameron finally responded.

"Wait, what!?" John shouted in confusion. _Since when did this happen?_

"There are signs when a young fertile female shows attraction to a male," Began Cameron. "When this happens, they release a pheromone that-"

"Okay, I'm going to stop you right there!" John signaled with his hand. "I meant to say was that I didn't know about this."

"Oh." Cameron nodded. "And yes, she has been… _flirting_ with you for several weeks, but you've failed to notice.

"Wow." John huffed and looked at the ground. What made the whole thing worse, was that his cousin had been trying this for several weeks but didn't succeed, so she eventually took matters into her own hands.

"Normally, males and even females fail to notice when the opposite sex has an attraction towards them." Cameron continued.

"Okay, I get it." John chuckled. "She's liked me for awhile, but I wasn't receiving the signals."

Instead of John feeling anger, he now felt pity for his cousin. She didn't know who she really was to John. How could she know? Too bad this wasn't something that he could talk to Cameron about. Accidentally telling a person was one thing, but telling a machine? Even if he did trust Cameron, it was far more riskier to reveal that kind of secret to her.

John turned back to ask Cameron something, but completely forgot when he noticed something on her neck. It was the same locket that she had supposedly found in the bathroom. The one that had a picture of him in it. He had to admit, that in a weird machine way, it was adorable that she kept a picture of him.

"I see that you still wear that." John smirked and pointed at the small piece of jewelry that was around her neck.

Cameron looked down and place her palm on the locket and studied it meticulously. "Yes."

"You still never did tell me the real reason why you keep my photo in there." John mentioned. It was something that still peaked his curiosity, but due to recent events, he never had a chance to sit down and actually talk to his protector.

"Oh." Cameron murmured and looked back up at John. "I keep it because it's my heart." She answered.

But that wasn't good enough for John. He already knew that in some philosophical way, that the piece of jewelry was his heart, but he still didn't know why his picture was inside.

"You already gave me that answer." John insisted. He knew that she had a tendency to try and deviate some of questions that he would occasionally ask her.

Cameron glared at John with a stoic face for a several seconds, before she finally spoke again. "I… keep your photo in it because…" She trailed off, trying to think of the right answer. "Because you're my only purpose for existing."

That was an answer John didn't expect to hear come from his cyborg protector. It shocked him to hear that combination of words in such a calm, caring, and yet machine way.

"I'm you're only reason for existing." John whispered. Cameron responded to the quiet murmur with a nod. "What does that mean to you?" John then asked. "Do you. You know… have… feelings?"

"Feelings?" Cameron tilted her head yet again.

"Emotions." John clarified.

John sat patiently, awaiting his answer. He wondered what response she would give him. Was she going to say yes? Or was she going to say no? The longer it took her to answer, the more it ate at him.

"I can't say."

"What?" John scoffed in disbelief. _This was the answer that I was anticipating!?_

"I can't say." Cameron repeated.

"What do you mean by: 'you can't say' huh?" John said angrily. "It's either a yes or no answer!"

"I said I can't say, John." Cameron repeated once more with a calm tone. Her demeanor infuriated John even more.

"You know what!" John snarled. This was something that he instantly caught himself doing. His temper had gotten out of control yet again, and this time, he was shouting at the one being who would die repeatedly for him. The one person who was listening to his problems. "I… I'm sorry Cam." He apologized sincerely. "I'm just frustrated right now."

"It's okay." Cameron smirked ever so slightly and stood up. "Thank you for the explanation." With that she had turned and stalked out of his room, purposefully leaving the door wide open.

John knew what he needed to do. It was time to make things right. He drew a deep breath, stood up from his chair, and walked out of his room, where he made his way to Cameron, Chloe's, and Alex's room.

John knocked on the door lightly and waited for a response.

"Who is it?" A voice sniffled from the other side.

"It's John." He answered, but there was no response from Chloe. John didn't give up and knocked again, until the door swung open, and revealed Chloe. Her eyes were red and puffy and had dried tears that trailed down her cheeks.

Even more guilt overcame John. Seeing his own cousin in such sorrow hurt him as much a gunshot wound. At this point, a gunshot wound probably didn't sound too bad of an idea.

"What." Chloe said in a blank expression, trying to hide her emotions. John knew how much she was struggling to hold back tears, by the sound of her voice shivering and her eyes beginning to become glassy again.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" John asked.

"No." Chloe immediately responded in a cold tone. She began to close the door, but John quickly blocked the door with his foot.

"Chloe just listen-"

John was cut off when Chloe tried with all her strength to force the door shut, despite the blockage of John's foot, but was unsuccessful. John had to admit that he was surprised that the wooden door didn't begin to crack due to the immense pressure, but his foot began to surely hurt.

John had enough of this attempt to further avoid him and used his right shoulder to bash the door open, causing Chloe to fall onto her rear. John entered the room, and closed the door behind him, just as Chloe began to stand up.

Through the sunlight glaring inside, John noticed a glimmer coming from his cousin's hand. Before John could even think as to what it was, Chloe suddenly lunged at John with her arm raised and the glimmering object being thrusted at him.

John grabbed Chloe's wrist that held the small object, as well as her other free arm, and was pushed up against the door.

There, John had a clear look at the object that was being held.

A pocket knife.

John used all of his strength to keep his cousin from thrusting the knife into him and had successfully shoved her away from him, with her dropping the knife as the result.

With Chloe back on the floor, John quickly grabbed the knife and held it in a non-threatening manner.

"Chloe, what the hell!" John fumed in absolute anger. He couldn't believe that his own cousin was trying to stab him.

Chloe didn't say a word. Instead, she averted her gaze from John's, and looked at the wooden floorboards.

"Chloe, I came here to talk to you, and you try this? Are you crazy!?" John shouted, and held out the small blade for her to see clearly. Chloe didn't look back up.

John closed the knife and put it in his pocket. He then cautiously walked over to his cousin and sat on the floor right next to her. The two didn't speak for several minutes, and just listened to the birds chirping outside and the faint conversations from downstairs.

They didn't hear the small fight that had ensued between the two.

"Why do you not like me?" Chloe spoke was the first to speak.

"Chloe it's not that-"

"Just answer the question. Please." She pleaded meekly. She wanted an answer and he wasn't prepared to give one. What he said right now, determined their future relationship.

Chloe and Derek were the only biological family that he had besides his mother. He didn't want to ruin it because of a secret that he was taught safeguard with his life. The very secret that he can't just tell anyone. The very secret that is causing this distance between them right now.

"Chloe, it's not that I don't like you, it's just… it's just that I see you more as a… sister." John answered pathetically. _Guess even if I wanted to, I couldn't reveal such a dangerous secret._

"Yeah thanks, that helps me a lot." Chloe sarcastically remarked.

"Chloe, look," Began John. "You are a beautiful person. Any guy would be lucky to have you, but-"

"But you like the machine." Chloe finished.

"What?" John said in surprise. "What, no! I don't!"

"I've seen how you look at her." Chloe continued. "She's beautiful and I don't blame you for that. It's easy to forget what she is."

"You're just making assumptions." John annoyingly said.

"Am I?" Chloe rose her eyebrow and wiped some tears from her eyes. "I can read you like a book John. You ogle the machine, and always smile when you talk to her."

"I know what she is." John argued. "She can never feel. Cameron is just my bodyguard. Nothing more. Nothing less."

"And me?" Chloe diverted the subject. "What am I to you?"

"You're my friend. And fake sister." John responded with a chuckle. "With all of this craziness, don't you think we should focus on that instead of relationship stuff?"

Chloe pondered on the proposal for a long moment before she hesitantly nodded in agreement.

"Good." John smiled in satisfaction. He stood up and out reached his hand for Chloe to take. She kindly accepted the gesture and was pulled back onto her feet.

John surprisingly engulfed Chloe in a tight, reassuring hug which she also accepted. The two broke off the embrace and John turned to leave the room, feeling relief that the whole thing was behind them.

"John?" Chloe called before John fully left the room.

"Yeah?"

"Can I have my knife back?"

"You did try to stab me."

"I'm sorry for that." Chloe sheepishly apologized. "I wasn't thinking."

"It's fine. You're just lucky that Cameron wasn't here."

"Or she would've killed me." Chloe finished. She knew what a terminator was capable of. Especially one that was programmed to protect the very person whom she had attacked out of anger. "I guess I need to work on my anger issues huh?"

"Very much so." John nodded. "I'll give this back to you when I know you can be trusted with it."

"Fine." Chloe agreed.

With that, John left the room, and closed the door behind him.

•••

 **Author's Note: That was a bit of a boring yet crazy chapter, but don't worry, this whole thing isn't over just yet. Next chapter, we'll see what John's plan is for getting into that Halloween costume party.**

 **Chloe's outburst was totally uncalled for, and it was unnecessary, I know. Chloe's character is bipolar, so at certain points, she can be normal, but she can also be unstable when her emotions get the best of her. I think this adds much more to her character and gives her, own personality when it comes to dealing with situations.**

 **And let's just hope that Cameron never finds out about Chloe's attack on John.**

 **Constructive criticism is gladly appreciated.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Terminator: No Fate But What We Make**

 **Chapter 14**

 _ **Los Angeles California, October 29, 2007: (Beverly Hills)**_

"Those damn kids!" A man spat as he chucked his glass at the wall. There was a party going on a few houses down, and the music was still playing very loudly. He hated it. Hated kids.

The man was in his late forties, and had grayish black hair that was tied in a ponytail. He was of average build, enough to handle his own in a fight if he needed.

But as much as he wanted to fight someone right now, kids weren't one of them. If he wanted a lawsuit that is.

The man sat on his sofa in what appeared to be his living room. The room was quite large, where the balcony above overlooked the lower level of the room, and a flat screen television was mounted over a fireplace. On the coffee table, a magazine displayed a picture of the man, with the title "Richest man of the year," with a question mark at the end.

The man reached for the TV remote and began to scroll through channels, trying to find something to watch. Better yet, something that was louder than the music going on next door.

Oh how much he wished he could just go over there and kill that music. The police were too busy to do anything about the loud party, so he was pretty much on his own in dealing with it.

Suddenly the doorbell rang. The man dismissed the bell, considering it was too late for any guests. Not that he expected any. The man went back to flicking through channels, until the bell rang a second time. Feeling very irritated, the man angrily got up off of the sofa and careen his way to the door. Who was at the door anyway? At this time of night the main gate was locked and very difficult to get over. Don't forget to mention the security alarm that should have been triggered either.

The man peered through the peephole of his large door and and saw someone standing on the other side. A teenager was standing outside his house. He sighed and undid the locks before opening the door, furious as to why such a young girl would be at his house at this time of night.

"Missy, you should leave before I call the police again." The man threatened. Not that the police would come anyway. They were too busy with other sorts of crime that resonated somewhere else in the city.

"Arnold Jackson?" The young teenager asked.

"What do you want?" The man sighed in annoyance. He thought it was just some girl who tried to wean some money off of him.

The teenage girl's right hand quickly shot out and grabbed him by the neck, then guided him inside. All that could be heard from the closing door was the man's screams being drowned out by pop music from next door.

 _ **Los Angeles California, October 29, 2007: (Connor Household, earlier that evening)**_

"No, John. It's idiotic and too dangerous to go." Cameron scolded. She was standing in the middle of John's room, while John himself was digging through his closet.

"Why do you have to be such a buzzkill?" John asked, while still digging through hangers of clothing.

"I'm not being a buzzkill." Cameron stated blankly. "It's dangerous to be sneaking out at this time of night."

"How is it dangerous?" John scoffed unconvinced. "It's just a party. If anything, people there will back me up if anything were to happen."

Before Cameron could immediately answer, John's door opened, and Chloe peeked her head inside. "John, I need your help."

"With what?" John asked. Chloe didn't answer, and instead she signaled for them to follow. The three walk out of John's room, where they then enter their room. Inside, Alex was sitting on her bed, organizing some papers. Chloe made a beeline for the closet and opened it. "So what did you need?" John asked again. His answer was being met with Chloe throwing a shirt at him. "Really, Chloe? What the hell?" He said angrily.

But what happened next, surprised all the occupants in the room. Cameron grabbed the shirt and threw it right back at Chloe's face.

"What was that for?" Chloe muttered angrily after removing the shirt from her face.

"You must not throw things at John." Cameron replied in her stoic manner.

"It didn't even hurt him. Don't you even understand banters?" Chloe snapped. "Of course you don't. You are just a piece of metal!"

John was laughing with Alex at Chloe's expense. But when he heard how Chloe was attacking Cameron, he felt something snap inside him. He couldn't understand why. "Okay, that's enough!" He raised his voice. "Chloe, stop attacking Cameron." Then he turned his attention to Cameron. His anger lowered significantly just by seeing her cute, adorable expression. "Cam, it was just a joke. Throwing a shirt at my face won't hurt me."

"I know that, John." Cameron replied.

"Then why did you do it?" John asked confused.

"I did it for you." Cameron answered.

"Er, What?" John scratched his head.

"You wanted to throw the shirt back at her face but you didn't because you are too nice, John. So, I did it for you." Cameron explained.

John's jaw dropped along with Alex and Chloe.

 _How did she know? Is she a psychic or something like that?_ John thought. "How… How do you know?" he then asked. Even Alex looked at Cameron with interest.

"I know you well, John." Cameron said boldly.

John's face turned like a tomato. He knew Cameron didn't mean it like she knew him intimately, but it really sounded like that.

"Ahem!" Alex broke the conversation before Cameron could say anything more embarrassing to John.

"So, umm... Chloe, what did you want?" John asked, diverting his attention away from Cameron but his face still red.

"I can't find an outfit for the Halloween party anywhere!" Chloe explained. "All there is in this stupid closet is Cameron's stupid leather jacket, Alex's scrubs, and…" Chloe paused and pulled out what appeared to be a studded leather strap that had a bright red ball attached. "This..."

"Is that some sort of dog collar?" John inquired confusingly. This safehouse, and everything in it, was owned by someone else at one point.

"I sure hope so." Chloe agreed and tossed the object back into the closet.

"How did you know about the party anyway?" John decided on changing the subject.

"Hello, it's been going around the school for weeks, John." Chloe pointed out. John now felt pretty dumb for stating the obvious, but quickly dismissed it.

"I still don't think it's a good idea." Cameron repeated.

"If you're so worried about John's safety, then why don't you go?" Alex spoke up. The three turn their heads to see Alex who was still sitting on her bed, with her legs crossed, and holding a stack of papers.

Cameron contemplated the option for a quick second before John spoke again.

"That's a great idea, why don't you come with us then?" John agreed to Alex's statement. Even though he wasn't too keen on being constantly watched by her as he would try to hit it off with Cherie. Ever since the locket, he has had an off feeling about Cameron's motives for what she did.

"I don't know." Cameron tilted her head in her normal fashion.

"Come on, Tin Head, it will give you that opportunity to blend in more with humans." Chloe mockingly said. "Look, you don't even need a costume, you already have it on."

Alex couldn't help but chuckle at Chloe's remark. Cameron on the other hand, didn't understand Chloe's teasing and looked at John for help.

"She's just making fun of you, Cam." John clarified.

Cameron nodded once in acceptance and turned back to look at Chloe. "You don't need one either. You are already dressed as Smegal."

Alex now broke out into an uncontrollable laughter, and Chloe growled at Cameron before going back to searching the closet. "I guess since we have no costumes, we might have to stop and get some."

"That's another thing I've been meaning to ask." Alex spoke again, just barely recovering from her laughing fit. "How are you getting past Sarah and Derek?"

"Maybe _you_ can help us?" John proposed.

"Yeah right." Alex scoffed. "Your mother still doesn't even trust me to buy groceries."

John closed his eyes in defeat. What were they going to do now? The only night that they'd ever have any fun and the mother of humanity wasn't just gonna let her son walk out of the door.

Or…

"I may have an idea." John smiled mischievously. A plan was brewing.

•••

Meanwhile downstairs, Sarah was in the kitchen, sitting on a chair in front of the oven. Derek walked in and opened the fridge, grabbing a cold beer. When he closed the door, that's when he noticed Sarah sitting, while staring at the oven with intensity.

"Uhh, Sarah?" Derek tapped her shoulder. She turned around and saw Derek looking down at her with complete confusion written on his face. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm trying to cook." She stated obviously.

"Then why do you have to watch it like it's planning on running away?"

"Because if I don't, then I'll forget about it." Sarah explained. "If I forget about it, then it will burn. If it burns, then we have no dinner."

"You know these phones you got us have timers on them now, right." Derek informed while he fiddled with his new cell phone.

"I'd rather not rely on technology for such a simple task." Sarah stubbornly replied and went back to watching the oven.

"You rely on that machine, upstairs." Derek muttered and took a sip of his soda.

"What was that?" Sarah asked, not entirely hearing what he just said.

"Nothing." Derek lied and started walking back to the living room slash his bedroom.

Suddenly a loud crash could be heard upstairs. Derek was immediately at the stairwell, and Sarah emerged from her chair. Derek motioned with his hand implying that he had it covered and grabbed his gun from the waistband of his jeans and began to slowly climb the stairs.

Once upstairs, he neared the rooms and found John's wide open. He slowly made his way to it and peeked his head inside. Once he did so, he was greeted with John shouting at Cameron with venom in his voice.

"What the hell did you do that for?" John spat at the young cyborg. His laptop was currently lying in pieces on the wooden floor.

"I wanted to see what you were looking at." Cameron replied with a stoic tone.

"What is going on here?" Derek asked, lowering his weapon.

"I found something on the turk, and before I could show you or mom, Cameron here tried taking it from me."

"Tried?" Derek rose his eyebrow in confusion. _If a machine wanted to take something from you, they would take it from you._

"There was a possibility that the search engine he was using, was tracking his facial details and could have possibly led the authorities to this safehouse." Cameron explained.

Derek sighed and returned the weapon to the back of his jeans. He walked further into the room and began to help his nephew pick up some of the shattered glass and keyboard bits and began to make a small pile. Something then caught his eye. It was a small flat object.

"What is this?" He asked John, knowing he was a computer geek.

"That's the laptop's hard drive." John answered and tossed more pieces of glass onto the small pile.

"If we get you a new laptop, can you track that information you spoke of?" Derek asked.

John nodded.

"Then grab some cash and go buy a new one." Derek ordered. He stood up and made his way out of the room and back downstairs.

Once Cameron was sure he was out of hearing range, she began to speak again. "Your plan worked." Cameron stated.

"The plan didn't involve breaking my laptop, it involved you turning mom's attention away from the lasagna so it would burn and we'd have to eat out again."

"It still worked though." Cameron pointed out. John rolled his eyes, knowing that she wouldn't understand his meaning and walked out of the room where he grabbed Chloe. The three set off downstairs where Cameron grabbed the Jeep keys and left the house.

Sarah was confused as to why the three suddenly left and looked at Derek who was sitting on the couch once again.

"Where are they going?" She asked the soldier.

"The metal broke John's laptop when he found some useful information," Derek answered. "I gave him some cash to go buy a new one so he could find it again, and we can finally get to doing something besides sit here and pretend everything's normal."

"Then why did your daughter go with them?" Sarah asked unconvincingly.

"Beats me." Derek shrugged and turned his attention back to the television.

"Didn't she and John not get along just a couple of hours ago?" Sarah then asked.

"If she went with John and his pet machine, then I'm guessing they made up." Derek shrugged again.

"Aren't you in anyway concerned about Chloe?" Sarah then asked.

"Should I?" Derek inquired. "She is after all, eighteen, and I've trained her well."

Deciding to give up, Sarah sat back down on the chair and looked back at the cooking lasagna. She was worried about her son being out late on and school night. But if he was with his terminator bodyguard, and Resistance fighters cousin, then he should be alright.

 _At least she hopes so, but a mother will always worry._

•••

 _Okay, so far, so good. Derek even managed to help us with the whole mess. Now we just have get the costumes, get to the party, where I can finally talk to Cherie alone!_ So far, everything seemed to go according to plan for John. Despite him having a rocky morning, he was actually about to have the time of his life tonight

The Jeep, that they had taken, came to a stop outside of a thrift store. Cameron was the first to exit the vehicle, with John and Chloe following. Since tomorrow was officially halloween, the store was packed with people.

"John, this is the wrong place." Cameron mentioned at the sign that beheld them that read: Party City. She tilted her head as to why John had led them to another party. "This isn't a costume store, it's a _Party City_."

John couldn't help but chuckle at Cameron's cuteness. She actually thought that the store was an actual party. He knew that he had to explain it to her.

"No Cam, that's just the name of the store." He clarified in the best way that he could. "It actually sells costumes during this time of year."

"Oh. Thank you for explaining." Cameron thanked in a blank yet very confidant voice. "I don't like it." she then opinionatedly added as she looked on to the crowd of people inside the store.

"What's not to like?" Chloe inquired. She thought the place was lively and filled with color. Something she never saw in the dark and gritty future.

"There's too much people."

"Too much people?" John and Chloe questioned in unison.

"Since when were you so worried about people?" John asked in a confusing tone. He was so used to explaining stuff to her, it was weird for her to have to explain something to him.

"It's not the people I'm worried about." Cameron shook her head. "It's what they are capable of that concerns me."

Chloe audibly scoffed at Cameron's explanation. "Machines don't get worried. They just follow a mission. So I'm pretty sure you're using the term ' _worried_ ,' out of context."

"Okay, that's enough bickering." John stepped in between the two. He knew there wasn't a fight that was about to ensue but he had to make a point. "Let's remember what we came here for."

The two girls reluctantly nodded in acceptance.

"Alright, now let's get a move on." John smirked. _At least some people can follow my orders._ He led the two to the store where they were greeted with holiday decorations on every corner of the store. Not one single space on the wall nor even the floor was unaccounted for in the festive banners and stickers.

The three strolled down one of the aisles where they came across costumes that fit into their size and age group.

"So... what do we get?" Chloe asked confused. It was her first Halloween after all.

"Uhh…" John scratched his head. When he came here, he expected Cameron and his cousin to just instantly know what they wanted. Not ask him about what they should wear.

"What about this one?" Cameron tilted her head and took a small bag off the rack. The front was a picture of what appeared to be a model wearing a skimpy version of Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz" that barely hid any skin whatsoever.

 _Guess Halloween had to ruin the story for me._

"Yeah, let's pick something else." John shook his head and took the costume from Cameron's grasp. He placed it back on the rack and studied the selections that the store offered. There were dozens of them. If they didn't hurry up and choose, they would be here all night.

Something suddenly caught John's eye as he randomly glanced to the far right and saw what would fit Cameron.

"How about this one?" He asked as he took the costume from the shelf and handed it to Cameron.

"Supergirl…" Cameron murmured in a confused tone.

"Not a good idea?" John inquired.

"I'm not blonde, or a superhero." Cameron stated. "What about Chloe? She has the hair and the attitude."

Chloe responded with a vulgar hand expression. "I'm not wearing that short skirt."

"Okay, fine." John sighed in defeat. "I'm gonna go look for mine. I'll see you guys in a couple of minutes." He informed and walked away.

Cameron was about to give chase until Chloe grabbed her by her slender shoulder. "John's a big boy, he can dress himself."

"I wasn't going to dress him." Cameron glared at Chloe. "I'm protecting him."

"From what?" Chloe rose her eyebrow in confusion. "The boogeyman?"

"The boogeyman is a mythical creature that parents tell their children, in order to behave." Cameron glared at Chloe with the most uncertainty. "I'm not the boogeyman."

"Shocker." Chloe mumbled and went back to looking at the costumes.

It was enough of a hint for Cameron to realize that John was only a few aisles away. If there was an unexpected attack, she would have heard his distress and rushed to his aid.

"You know, if you want to get John to follow you around like a loyal pet, you can always wear that supergirl outfit." Chloe joked.

To her surprise, she saw Cameron grab the costume back from the rack and studied it once more. She turned around with a smirk and began to remove her jeans. In a quick fluid motion, Chloe grabbed Cameron by both wrists, before she could fully remove the top button, and looked around with her cheeks red. "What the hell do you think you're doing!?" Chloe hissed.

"You told me that it would be a good idea to wear that costume." Cameron stated in a confused tone.

"Yeah, not here!" Chloe quietly scolded the young machine. "This is a public store, not the playboy mansion!" _Is this what John deals with everyday? This machine is like a five year old!_

Chloe took a deep breath to calm herself and spoke to Cameron again. "Why don't you go find a changing room, if you're so eager to try that costume on, huh?"

Cameron gave Chloe a long piercing glare before she turned on her heels and walked away from Chloe, in pursuit of a dressing room.

Several minutes had passed before John returned to the aisle, to find her cousin in the same spot, but no Cameron.

"Where did Cameron go?" John asked as he joined his cousin.

"It went to find a changing room." Chloe simply answered. "It's very weird really. The last thing I expected to ever do was shop with a terminator." She then sarcastically added.

"You find you anything yet?" John asked.

"Uhh..." Chloe undecidedly stammered, as she continued to examine each and every packaged costume that was on the wall. There were so many to choose from, yet she didn't know what most of them were. Some were from movies, and videogames; while some were from comic books, and slasher flicks.

There was one particular costume that immediately caught her eye. At the very top, there was a simple vampire costume, complete with a cape, and fake teeth. She grabbed the small package from the very top and looked down at it with a smile.

John couldn't help but chuckle. "A vampire."

"Yeah, I still don't know what that is." Chloe honestly answered. "But the girl in picture can pull it off, so why not me?"

"It's not that, it's just most people will probably be wearing the same thing, you know?" John explained. "It's better to be unique when attending these costume parties, so when people see you, they are more likely to compliment you."

"Really." Chloe mused and looked back down at the costume. "How many of have you been too?" She then asked.

"This is the first one." John answered.

"And what is your costume?" Chloe also asked.

"A werewolf. Why?"

"Exactly my point, so I'm wearing this." Chloe said.

"Alright then." John rolled his eyes. "Anyway, let's get Cameron and let's get out of here."

The two turned to leave the aisle, where they met Cameron coming out of one of the dressing rooms. John's jaw dropped to the floor once again at the style of dress that she was wearing. It was a dark blue supergirl top that was cropped above the belly, complete with a short red skirt and red heeled boots. Once again, his cyborg protector was able to pull off something so simple.

"You're ogling again." Chloe whispered in John's ear, breaking him away from his thoughts.

"I like this." Cameron let out a tiny smile once she noticed John looking at her. She didn't know why but she liked whenever John looked at her like that.

John noticed something about her costume that somehow made Cameron look even more _gorgeous_. She was wearing a blonde wig to complete the Supergirl costume. "The wig suits you." John nervously rubbed the back of his head as his cheeks began to turn red again. He tried to look at Cameron's face, but his eyes automatically kept glancing towards Cameron's slightly exposed belly.

 _What is happening to me? Why am I feeling this way whenever I am near her?_

"Supergirl is blonde." Cameron stated. "I thought I had to be blonde in order to wear it."

"You really don't, but whatever." Chloe sighed annoyingly. She hated being the third wheel of this awkwardness that John had the tendency to make. "Well we found everything that we need, so let's get out of here."

The three made their way to the checkout aisle and walked out of the store back to the vehicle, where they drove away.

•••

Back at the safehouse, Sarah looked out of the kitchen window that overlooked the street. She had her cell phone in hand was was trying to call her son. He wouldn't answer and that worried her greatly. Even if he was with a machine that was programmed to protect him no matter what, that didn't stop her from worrying about her son.

If she was being honest with herself, she didn't entirely trust Cameron all that much. To her, a machine was a machine. Nothing could change the circuitry that went on inside her head- for if one small wire were to loosen, a minor bit of damage could corrupt her and take John away. Like Kyle.

"So, are we ordering pizza again, since the lasagna burnt; or are you just gonna wait for John, and Chloe?" Derek asked from the doorway.

"You said they were out buying a new laptop." Sarah said with a confused tone. "Why aren't they back?"

"Maybe traffic?" Derek proposed.

"Cameron would stick to back roads and avoid major highways." Sarah shook her head. "She's smarter than that."

"You seem to give the Tin Can a lot of praise for someone who hates machines." Derek grumbled.

"What was that?" Sarah asked, already knowing exactly what he said.

"Er- nothing." Derek muttered. "Look, if I think John is safe, then you should too."

"No one is-"

"Ever safe, I know." Derek cut off. "You say that so much, I think the machine mutters it at night when it's patrolling."

"If it's sticking to someone, then at least it's something." Sarah sighed.

Derek scoffed. " _Someone_." Derek never considered machines as people. To him they were just pieces of scrap that have killed countless numbers of people. Innocent people.

"I'm going to my room, tell me if John comes home. I can't reach Tin Miss, or even your daughter." Sarah announced and walked out of the kitchen.

"Thank God." Derek mouthed and walked into the living room. "Tonight I can finally get some peace."

When Derek entered the living room, he was greeted with Alex sitting on the sofa, with the television remote in hand. _Well, that certainly went down the drain, quick._ Derek took a seat right next to the woman and snatched the remote from her grasp and changed the channel.

"Hey!" Alex spat. "I was watching that!"

"When you live on this couch, then you get the say so on what is on." Derek sneered and went back to watching.

"Oh, yeah?" Alex inquired and took the remote from him and immediately jumped off the sofa. "If you can take it, then you can watch!" She held the remote far above her head, out of Derek's reach; very similar to a person holding a treat for an animal.

" _Give_ it back." Derek barked in a serious tone.

"Or what?" Alex challenged.

"Or this." Derek shouted and tackled her to the ground. The two land on the coffee table, shattering it into pieces. "Now give it back!" Derek spat and tried to pry the device from her hands. In the struggle for the television remote, Alex had used her free foot and brought it up to Derek's chest, and gave a stern kick, that sent Derek flying up to the ceiling and landing next to Alex.

"H… how did you?" Derek breathed heavily. He was confused as to how he hit the ceiling and had the breath knocked out of him.

"I kicked you, dumbass!" Alex blared.

"What kind of kick… was… that?" Derek asked.

"The kind of kick I give when you attack me for the remote!" Alex explained. She got back up onto her feet, just as Sarah came rushing downstairs, curious to what the loud crash came from. She was greeted with a smashed up coffee table, Derek lying on the floor, and Alex standing above him.

"What's going on here?" Sarah inquired.

"The bitch kicked me through the ceiling!" Derek angrily exclaimed as he stumbled back onto his feet.

"What did you just call me!?" Alex threatened.

"Will you two just shut up?" Sarah barked. "You are acting like children!"

"Sarah, you didn't see what she did." Derek persisted in a haste tone. "S- she literally kicked me seven feet up in the air!"

"Maybe it's because she's half machine?" Sarah obviously stated.

"Wait, you're a-" Derek stammered in complete surprise. Then, another question came to mind. "Wait what? What do you mean, _half_?"

 _ **Beverly Hills, California**_

The night sky was practically invisible to what was happening below. There was a large house, that was more modern in terms of design, littered with hundreds of teenagers.

John, and Chloe stared at the lavish mansion in front of them, in astonishment. Never before did they ever see anything remotely the size of the structure that stood before them.

"This place is-"

"Big." Cameron answered.

"That's one word." John chuckled. "Guess there's no backing out now, huh?"

"There is, we just have to turn and leave." Cameron obviously recommended. She didn't understand John's meaning.

"No, Cam, I mean that since we're here, might as well have fun." John clarified.

"Oh." Cameron sadly accepted.

"Let's get inside!" Chloe excitedly exclaimed and began to walk closer to the mansion. John and Cameron felt compelled to follow, so they chased after the blonde. Once inside, they were greeted with several faces of people that they recognized from school; while some were concealed by rubber masks, or a ton of makeup.

"I think I like Halloween." Chloe smiled. The whole place was filled with such a diversity of costumes, there was loud music, with people dancing; and lastly, there was food. Since they haven't eaten dinner, Chloe immediately walked off to the snack table.

John and Cameron continued to take in the scenery. John had never seen anything like this before. It was almost reminiscent to high school parties from old movies, but this had a different feel- a different atmosphere. There was nobody dancing their tails off like he expected. There were some moving to the beat of the party music, but it was no rave.

Cameron didn't seem to care all too much for the party. She had the same demeanor that she always had. It was blank and lifeless.

"Hey guys!" John broke from his thoughts and saw Cherie Westin walking up towards them. "Why am I not surprised you showed up?" Cherie mockingly smirked. John took a good look at Cherie's costume and noticed that she was wearing a bat girl one that was very similar to Cameron's in terms of style; with the shirt cropped above the belly. But hers was different because instead of a skirt, she wore a pair of dark shiny leggings.

"I didn't even know it was yours, until a friend told me." John lied. "But I have to say, Cherie, I'm impressed."

"Thanks, John, that's sweet of you to say." Cherie smiled. "Hey, wanna see the pool I have in the backyard?" She then asked.

Taking the opportunity to finally spend time with Cherie, John agreed. Cherie then grabbed him by the arm and began to drag him along with her, away from Cameron.

Cameron was left alone, standing near the front door, where they had arrived. Wanting to keep a close eye on John, Cameron began to push past the crowd in pursuit. She was stopped however, when someone taped her on the shoulder and she turned to see who it was.

"Hey, Cameron!" Morris greeted in a friendly manner. He looked down at the costume she was sporting and was baffled. "Wow, you look great!"

"Thank you." Cameron stoically acknowledged. She didn't care much for Morris, so she turned around and kept walking.

"Cameron, wait!" Morris tried gaining her attention. Cameron stopped and turned to face him again. "Do you want to, umm…" He stammered nervously. "Do you want to you know. Hang out?"

Cameron glared at him before giving him an answer. "No," and left him standing there.

At the snack table, Chloe noticed Morris' rejection and walked towards him. "Hi, you're John's friend, right?"

"Yeah, I am." Morris sighed in defeat. "Oh, you're his cousin. Chloe right?"

"At your service." Chloe bowed in a courteous manner. _I really need to stop watching those old westerns._

"Anyway, I couldn't help but notice you try and talk to my… cousin." She then stated, trying to fight the urge to gag at relating Cameron as her " _Cousin_."

"People say she is hard to approach, so I understand that she isn't very sociable." Morris responded with a shrug.

 _Oh I wish I could tell him that he was flirting with a machine so bad._ "Trust me, Morris, Cameron is… well let's say she's not into guys." Chloe lied.

 _Well, maybe except one._ Chloe thought while grinding her teeth.

"Wait, you're telling me she is… a lesbian?" Morris inquired shockingly.

"Er, I mean no, not really that either." Chloe answered unsure. "She's just not into relationships."

"That doesn't make sense?" Morris argued. "She has to have some orientation."

"Believe me, it's better to just forget about her, and find someone else." Chloe chuckled. _Better to have his heart broken than his neck._

"Someone like you, maybe?" Morris suggested.

"Heh?" Chloe broke from her thoughts, unsure what she heard was what he actually said.

"You are trying to get with me, right?" Morris inquired in uncertainty.

"Yeah, no, not really." Chloe backed away in embarrassment. "Sorry, but that's not what I was proposing."

Morris looked at the ground in sorrow. Chloe could see that his eyes were beginning to well up with tears. Now she felt bad for the kid."Hey you know what?" Chloe placed her hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her. "I saw some alcohol outside, so let's get shit faced!"

"I-I don't know, my parents would kill me if they found out I got drunk." Morris confessed.

"Don't be such a baby, come on!" Without any interjection, Chloe dragged Morris along with her. _I sure hope this will beat that homemade moonshine back in the future._

•••

"You really didn't know?" Sarah asked. Derek had no knowledge of Alex being a hybrid of both machine and human. Then again, no one did inform him either.

"How the hell was I supposed to?" Derek pointed out.

"You told me to stab myself to make those Armenian thugs think I was robbed!" Alex angrily exclaimed.

"It was a joke!" Derek argued. "I didn't think you'd actually do it! I would have sent the metal in otherwise!"

"Well thanks for the heads up!" Alex sarcastically scoffed. "I'm still sore, you know?" _In hindsight, it was probably my fault for being stupid enough to do it anyway._

"So, you can feel _pain_?" Derek asked.

"Yes." Alex acknowledged. "Just not to the same degree as you or Sarah."

"How is this possible?" Derek muttered. "I've never heard of Skynet making hybrids of people?"

"Forgive me for asking, but what do you mean you've never heard of hybrids before?" Sarah asked Derek. "Didn't you say you were one of John's best soldiers?"

"Just because I was one of his 'best soldiers,' that doesn't mean I would be told about anything regarding half human half machine projects that would potentially be found by Tech-Com in the first place!" Derek explained. There was the line that was drawn on who could hold certain knowledge. The less who knew certain details, the better off they were. More people wanted to believe in more simpler things. Not time travel, and definitely not hybrids of man and machine.

"We screwed up the timeline, that's probably why he doesn't know." Alex mentioned.

Sarah couldn't help but hear the key word, "We" in screwing up the timeline. The rest of the sentence also brought more confusion to the older woman. "What did you just say?"

"Uhh." Alex stammered. _Great job, Alex, you just threw yourself into a box again._

"What do you mean by we screwed up the timeline?" Sarah demanded. "You better start speaking!"

"Jesus, I will, just give me a chance!" Alex blared in annoyance. "Okay, so how do I explain this." _It's easier to talk to John that it is to Sarah._ "Okay, so you remember the Terminatrix, right?"

"I do." Sarah agreed. "What's your point?"

"Well it's possible that she… along with Derek and Chloe… are a result of us messing up the timeline." Alex mumbled in a childish manner.

Instead of Sarah immediately raising her voice like how Alex expected, Sarah instead gave her the most confused look. "I wish I knew how to respond to that."

"What the hell do you mean by me and Chloe don't exist?" Derek inquired confusingly. "We are literally here right now."

"That's what I'm trying to get at!" Alex explained. "I knew Kyle in the future and he always talked about you. Specifically you being dead."

Derek took a seat and rubbed his eyes in a tiring groan. "So let me get this straight. You knew Kyle, but he told you that I was dead?" Alex nodded in clarification. "So what about Chloe? Doesn't she exist at least?"

"No. she doesn't," Alex answered. "I've only ever met your daughter's machine version and that was because she was from a far distant future."

"If you've met my daughter's metal twin, and I'm supposedly dead, then how is she born and how is she copied?" Derek then asked.

"I could ramble on about the possibilities of time travel, but I honestly couldn't tell you, Derek." Alex said truthfully. "I'm sorry, but you're not supposed to be real."

"In my future you're not real either. Neither is the machine." Derek then questioned. "How do I know that you're just making things up, huh? You could be secretly leading Sarah and John to working for Skynet for all we know!"

"Unless you want to go up into that ceiling again, I suggest you stop accusing me of things that aren't true!" Alex sneered.

"Is that a threat, half metal?" Derek inquired as he got into Alex's face, with anger in his eyes. Upon learning that Alex was secretly a machine, his very little trust in her already, had plummeted.

"If my plan were to involve tricking Sarah and John into somehow contributing in the creation of Skynet, then if you learned about it, I would have killed you." Alex argued. "So I highly suggest that you actually put that brain of yours into use, instead of thinking like a dumb soldier." _I hate when people know about my secret and then that use it against me._

"Oh, so you are saying that you are working for Skynet, is that it?" Derek quipped.

"Oh, I'm about to turn your head into reeses pieces!" Alex angrily remarked and began to take another step towards Derek.

"Alex, calm down." Sarah ordered in a stern yet calm tone. "Derek, just because she is different, it doesn't mean that she's the enemy. As much as I hate to actually defend Alex, she has a point. She could have easily killed you and me and just told John and Chloe some elaborate lie about a terminator breaking in and killing us."

Alex was surprised to hear Sarah defend her in the way she did. There were alternative ways to hiding a secret as bad as working for the enemy, sure, but it was still flattering.

"So can we please stop arguing?" Sarah asked the two. It was bad enough that her son had been missing for several hours already, and this bickering between Derek and Alex was not helping in any way, shape or form.

•••

Back at the party, everyone was gathered in their own small groups, socializing. It wasn't a lively party in terms of dancing, but the music and alcohol kept it lively as some groups had even taken to starting party games that shouldn't be played by any high schooler.

John and Cherie walked around the backyard, as some of their own peers had decided to take a swim, and were splashing around.

"So, uhh, Cherie." John stammered, not knowing what to say.

"What's up?" Cherie inquired.

John definitely felt awkward to say the least. For weeks he had been trying to find time to talk to Cherie but would never get the chance because she would run off. But now that he actually had the chance to hang out with her, he didn't even know how to start off the conversation.

"So I just wanted to apologize for accidentally assumed you were from Wichita." John decided to start off with. He did in fact feel like a jerk for saying it in the first place. But rumors were very easy to believe sometimes.

"It's fine." Cherie shrugged and took a sip of her drink. "Are you sure you don't want any? I've been stocking up for quite awhile." She then offered her drink to John.

"I'd rather keep sober, but thanks." John kindly declined. "Can I ask you something?" He then asked.

"Go ahead." Cherie replied.

"Why do act so shy at school?"

Cherie scoffed, "What do you mean?"

"You always act so cut off from everyone, and I'm just surprised that you actually are even hosting a party such as this one." John explained. "Why do you act that way there, but here, you are just… really cool?" _Was cool even the right word to use?_

Cherie looked at her surroundings before she pulled John into a secluded area of the backyard. "I only act like that around school because of my... father." She whispered.

"Your father?" John inquired. "What does he have to do anything?"

"I don't want to explain anything to you, John. I've already said enough." Cherie stubbornly answered. "Just know that he's very strict."

"How bad?"

"Enough to not give me a social life." Cherie replied. "Just please don't say anything to anyone. I don't want more rumors to be started."

"Alright. I can do that." John agreed. _No social life? Sounds like her father is my mother. But my mother at least has a reason._

"Anyway, I never asked you about yourself." Cherie decided on changing the subject. "What can _you_ tell me?"

"Not much." John rubbed the back of his head. "Guess we have something in common, right?"

"I guess?" Cherie answered unsure.

"So, you came here with your sister and cousin. What can you tell me about them?" Cherie asked.

"Chloe and my uncle are living with us for the meantime while they find a place; and my sister. Well she isn't that much of a people person." John explained. At least he hoped that his cousin and uncle weren't planning on moving out.

"At least you have siblings and relatives." Cherie mumbled. "I only have my dad, and my mother died years ago." Her eyes fell to look at the ground, and she turned away from John.

"I'm sorry." John reassuringly put his hand on her shoulder. "My father died before I was even born, so I know how you feel." He felt bad for Cherie. She and him had something in common. But yet, he somehow felt different about her. Back at school, her incompetence to avoid him, and anyone else, made John want to pursue her even more. But now that he knew the reasons. The fact that she is in constant fear of her father. He now saw her in a different light.

To John's surprise Cherie put something in her mouth. John wouldn't have been surprised if it was just food but it appeared to be some kind of drug. He could tell that from Cherie's reaction. It was not that he was disgusted because he knew few girls and boys of his age takes drugs.

 _Why the girls are always so complicated?_ But he knew there is one who is not.

John was always interested in Cherie, he was attracted to her. But today's event just reminded him that even if he was attracted to this beautiful girl, she will always be the second best looking girl in his books, because there is no one who can take Cameron's place. It was the moment when she had first introduced herself at school, John was mesmerized by her beauty. After he came to know about her true nature he felt a little heart broken. But his feelings for his protector never changed.

Ever since the costume store, he couldn't get Cameron out of his mind. That was who he seemed to be focused on right now. Her beauty had flooded every corner of his mind- her adorable confusion when she couldn't understood something. And thinking of Cameron, he left her all alone. He knew she is not sociable. She won't talk to anybody except him, besides who will meet her endless curiosity except him. Everyone will think that she is weird. But John doesn't think that. To him, she is as simple minded as a child.

John came to a sudden realization. Was he falling for his protector? A Terminator? It seemed too ludicrous to even consider that, but yet, he was. Was it lust that was drawing him towards her? That costume she wore definitely made his heart sore just like that black dress. But he wasn't sure if that was exactly it.

John put those thoughts of Cameron aside, not caring to even think that way about her. He only wanted to suddenly be with her.

John turned on his heels and began to walk away from Cherie. She had called for him, trying to gain his attention, but John was determined to find someone else. He no longer cared about Cherie the way he had originally thought.

Once back inside the house, there seemed to be even more people whom probably arrived. Some could have been party crashers, or just showed up late. It was hard for John to maneuver through the crowd, as he had to force his way through large groups just to get a few feet.

He couldn't find Cameron anywhere. Where John thought that she would be right behind him just like always, she was nowhere to be seen. _Where would she be at?_ John hastily looked at his surroundings, trying to desperately find his cyborg protector, but it was no use. Her costume was almost as common as air. Most girls attending seemed to be sporting the exact same as her. It made finding Cameron difficult. Like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

After much shoving and maneuvering, John managed to make his way into the main living room. Despite the house practically being a mansion, it managed to be overly crowded. It was proven difficult to get anywhere. John scanned the area just like the past few rooms he had searched and found Cameron. But she was crowded by a few older looking teenagers. Ones who didn't bother wearing a costume like anyone else. They were the school jocks.

Cameron just stoically stood still, looking up at the older male teenagers as they attempted to flirt with her. This sparked a flame within John. Seeing other people talk to her in that way made him furious.

John shoved his way through more people, until he reached Cameron. He shoved through the older looking teenagers and stood in front of Cameron.

"There you are, where were you?" John demanded in a calm tone. He was just glad to find her.

"You looked like you wanted to be alone." Cameron replied.

"Well let's get out of here." John sighed and grabbed her wrist. He began to drag her along, until one of the jocks blocked his path.

"Move, Baum." The biggest one threateningly barked.

John had to actually gaze up in order to look the jock in the eye. "I should be asking you the same thing." He boldly said.

The jock chuckled and looked at his friend. "You hear him? 'I should be asking you the same thing. Listen, Baum." The jock then averted his attention back down to John and Cameron. "Just because she's your sister, doesn't mean I won't kick your ass, so you best leave."

"No." John gritted his teeth. He knew he couldn't take them all on. One would even prove difficult to take on. But he was confident with Cameron with him. He just hoped that she wouldn't kill them. John knew she can kick their asses within seconds but still he felt that he should protect her. He put his right hand over Cameron and gently pushed her behind him. But in the heat of the moment John didn't notice where he touched Cameron.

The jock got into John's face and shoved him backwards, making him fall to the floor as the result. Before John could recover from the fall, Cameron had sidestepped in front of the jocks path. She brought her knee up to the jock's groin, where an audible crack was heard.

The jock fell to the floor, just as John stood up and began to whimper as he held his crotch in agony.

John was relieved that she hadn't killed the Jock, but he couldn't even begin to imagine the pain he was going through. Never will he know that a Terminator was the one who probably hurt his future ability to have children.

"Thanks." John smirked. He was proud that she hadn't done anything drastic.

"You're welcome." Cameron nodded and looked back down at the Jock. His friends had turned and walked away, only muttering something inaudible. But John didn't care too much for them. He was just thankful to have finally found her.

Cameron's head suddenly jolted to look at the front door. Through the small window, flashing blue and red lights could be seen. The music stopped and everyone began to panic.

"We need to leave." Cameron ordered. She grabbed John and the two began to make their way to the back glass sliding door, where everyone was trying to escape from. John suddenly stopped which caused Cameron great confusion. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"Chloe!" John remembered. "Where did she go?" He hastily looked around his surroundings hoping to find her running out along with everyone else, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"I don't know." Cameron truthfully admitted.

John began to push past everyone who was heading opposite of him, which prompted Cameron to follow suit. The two asked people leaving if they seen her. Most had just ignored him; while some actually stopped to answer. One had informed him that they saw her along with Morris had headed upstairs.

John's eyes widened. He hoped that his cousin wasn't getting into anything that she'd regret the next morning. He wasn't too keen on finding out either, but due to the given circumstances, he had no choice in the matter. Both he and Cameron made their way to the staircase and climbed upstairs.

It was vacant. There was nobody that they could see. Cameron took the lead and stalked down the hallway, where she looked inside each room very quickly, until they came to one of the house's many bathrooms. She opened the door, and found someone particular inside.

Chloe.

She along with Morris were however both curled up in the large bathtub, unconscious, and still holding a bottle of tequila in hand. John was at least relieved that they were both clothed, and dry. _They must have gotten drunk and passed out here,_ John wondered.

Cameron grabbed Chloe and slung her body over her shoulders. John was surprised that even when she was out cold, she still held onto that bottle of tequila with dear life.

Chloe managed to somewhat awaken, and dropped the almost empty bottle onto the floor. She began to pound her fists at Cameron's back, while stuttering insults. "L-let me g-go, you d-dumb machine!"

"Chloe, calm down, we need to get out of here!" John tried reasoning. But Chloe had none of it and continued to punch Cameron's back and started pulling on her short cape. In her intoxicated state, she found a sudden interest in the shiny bit of fabric.

"D-dead or alive, y-you're coming with me!" She exclaimed in a very confusing accent. She then fell unconscious once more.

Upon hearing the front door open downstairs, Cameron had turned and walked into a bedroom. Instantly she could tell that the police were now inside.

Cameron started to make her way to the window on the opposite side of the room. Knowing what she had in mind, John rounded her and opened the window. He climbed through first, where Cameron pushed an unconscious Chloe through and John taking her. Once on the roof, the two could see a cop car out in front and their car parked across the street.

"How do we get down?" John asked.

Cameron ignored John's question, and rolled Chloe off of the roof, where she then plummeted into a neatly trimmed rose bush, below.

"Cameron!" John shouted in anger. "Why did you do that?"

"We're only on the second floor." Cameron stated. "It should be safe."

"Should?" John inquired. "You mean you're not sure?"

"Trust me, John." Cameron persisted.

With no time to argue, John took a heavy breath and jumped into the bush next to the one Chloe resided in. Luckily enough, it didn't hurt him as much as he expected. Only some branches had scratched him, but it was nothing too major. Cameron didn't bother with aiming for a bush, and instead jumped onto the driveway below, and landed on her feet.

John got out of the bush and grabbed Chloe. He grabbed her by the arm and held her over his shoulder, where they began to slowly make their way back to the Jeep. They were lucky that there was only one police cruiser and they were too busy pursuing the people still inside. It made their escape a whole lot easier. John couldn't help but feel bad about the party being crashed. Cherie was for sure going to be in big trouble by her father, and Morris was most likely going to be arrested for being under the influence as a minor.

But they made it out safely and were now on their way back home. Cameron drove and John sat in the passenger seat next to her. Chloe was in the back, still completely passed out from the alcohol, and had over a dozen scratches on her face from the rose bush she had fallen in. She wouldn't feel it till morning.

Wasting no time Cameron started the car; with John in the front seat beside her, and an unconscious Chloe at the back. A few minutes has passed, no one said anything. Cameron glanced at John, he seemed to be in good mood. So she decided that this was the best time to ask the question.

"Why did you do it John?" Cameron asked.

"Did what?" John inquired confused.

"Why did you push me back? There was no need." Cameron stated.

"I was protecting you." John said. Cameron opened her mouth in protest but John beat her to it. "I know what you are going to say, that you are the one who is supposed to protect me, not the other way around. But listen, Cameron you are my friend. My only and best friend. So, was it odd that I was trying to protect my best friend?" John explained.

"No." Cameron agreed. "I am your best friend?" She asked with a hint of smile on her face.

"Of course you are." John said looking outside the window.

"Can I ask you one more question?" Cameron asked.

"Shoot." John said.

"Back when you pushed me behind you-"

"Cameron, I already explained to you." John said, a little frustrated at her lack of understanding.

"No. I understand that I am your best friend. I want to ask you why were you touching my breasts?" Cameron asked with curiosity.

"Wha- What?!" John's face turned several shades of red.

"Your hands were over my breasts John. Isn't it inappropriate to touch someone's breasts?" She asked with her head tilted.

"I….No. I didn't mean to. I wasn't watching. I….am sorry." John stuttered and blushed.

Cameron noticed he was getting a little too worried. "It's okay John. You can touch me."

John's eyes became round and suddenly he felt that the temperature in the car had became very hot. Very hot indeed. He hoped that his mother never learned of this, otherwise she will kill him for sure.

Chloe suddenly woke again and leaned in between the two with a smile on her face. "I… I love you guys."

"Chloe, you are intoxicated. Go back to sleep." Cameron ordered, while not taking her eyes off of the road.

"You don't tell me what to do!" Chloe angrily slurred. John couldn't help but chuckle a bit at his cousin's weirdness, even if she wasn't sober.

But now that they were heading back home, they now had to face Sarah and Derek. John didn't know what was in store for him, but he was sure that with the state that Chloe was in. He was in for a severe scolding. But he didn't care. Even if tonight didn't go as planned, he was happy with the way things turned out.

•••

 **Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait on this chapter. I've hit some speed bumps along the way, but I wouldn't have gotten this done if not for the help of ActionfreakXD. He deserves credit for this chapter being completed.**

 **This chapter is the longest I've written so far, so I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I did writing it.**

 **Reviews and constructive criticism is gladly appreciated!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Terminator: No Fate But What We Make**

 **Chapter 15**

 _ **Crystal Peak, June 8, 2027: Resistance Base**_

 _ **7:05 pm**_

In the far end of the corridor, inside the base, Alex Mathews sat, cleaning her plasma rifle. It was a complicated task; considering that plasma rifles weren't meant for human use, but machines instead. They were huge and bulky and lacked any scope or grip to make holding them comfortable.

But for Alex, her plasma rifle was almost like the back of her hand. She knew the inner workings of the weapon almost as well as she knew herself. Despite her being very different from other people, she took that opportunity to learn more about herself.

What lies inside her, and most did it affect those close to her? Hybrids weren't commonly known in this future. It wouldn't be till years later, that this version of Skynet would think of something remotely as similar to her design- Half machine and half human. She was glad that the human part for the most part, stuck. But the machine side clearly showed sometimes. She hated to admit the cruel acts she had done while under the control of Skynet. It wasn't exactly her, yet she had killed. That's what brought her more motivation to bring down the machines.

Suddenly, the base's siren went off, as the loud blaring siren had echoed throughout the corridor. Alex immediately broke from her deep thoughts and set down the screwdriver she held; Where she rushed down the hallway with her plasma rifle at the ready.

Base protocols called for a base attack, so Alex rushed to the only area she knew where to hold ground: The elevator.

Once there, Alex found that she, along with five other men, were present at the elevator. _Guess nobody follows protocol around here._

The loud screeching, and the machinery whirring from above, could be heard. The elevator was beginning it's decent.

Every techcom soldier, that was present, got ready, as the elevator drew nearer and nearer to their level. They didn't know what was on the other end. All they knew is that the siren meant that there was a breach inside the base.

It was silent in the corridor, besides the loud blaring siren. But the whole thing seemed too suspenseful. If it was a Skynet attack, the base would be feeling the effects of the fighting above. That same could be said about some of the raiders that would occasionally attack and steal Resistance artillery for their own use.

Everything seemed too off for Alex. Nothing seemed like it should.

Finally, after much waiting, the elevator came to a sudden halt on their level. Alex, as well as the rest of the men rose their rifles, ready to fire at what was about to walk through the elevator's blast door.

When the door began to slowly open, the soldiers, along with Alex weren't sure whether to fire or not. They didn't want to risk shooting any friendlies. But if they didn't, then it's possible that if who was in the elevator was a machine, then they'd be dead before they could even process a final thought.

Inside the elevator, the light was busted out, which meant that whoever was inside, or if anybody was inside at all, couldn't be seen. It was pitch black.

The soldiers lowered their rifles and sighed in relief, thinking that the elevator just automatically descended on its own. But then, a figure emerged from the darkness and walked into the light. Due to the soldiers thinking that the lift was vacant, they were shocked that someone was actually inside, and aimed their weapons at the figure just as it emerged from the darkness.

Alex's eyes widened in both relief and shock. The person who was standing in front of her was.

it was Allison Young.

She couldn't believe her eyes. The teenage girl- her best friend who had been missing for months, was here. She was alive! But her being here during the presence of an attack didn't make any sense whatsoever. That feeling that something wasn't right resurfaced in Alex.

Allison suddenly pulled out a plasma rifle and fired at one of the men, killing him instantly, and causing the other four to open fire at her as the result.

With everything happening so quickly, Alex punched and threw one soldier on top of the other three and then rushed to Allison. She knelt down began to frantically study her wounds.

Allison's eyes were closed which implied that the injury might have knocked her unconscious… or worse. She had four bullet holes in her chest, and three embedded in her right bicep. Alex knew. She didn't want to believe it, but she knew that Allison was dead in her arms.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, Allie!" Alex cried at the young girl in worry. Alex placed head on Allison's chest to check for a heartbeat, but there wasn't one. Even more panic began to engulf her as she tried to check for some type of pulse. But there was nothing. Allison Young was gone.

 _ **Los Angeles California, November 13, 2007: (Connor Residence)**_

 _ **7:15 pm**_

John, Connor never really appreciated his mother's cooking. But tonight. Tonight was a surprise for him. Sarah had managed to perfectly cook some pollock, complete with lemon butter, and tartar sauce. It was an interesting meal for John, considering that his diet mostly consisted of sandwiches and pancakes.

Everyone was gathered around the table in the kitchen eating their meal. They all had to scrunch up to fit so they had a place to eat at. Since Cameron didn't eat, she declined the meal and took to staring out the kitchen window.

"So, Sarah." Alex spoke up after taking a sip of water. "When are we going to give Sarkissian that call?"

"I'm not sure." Sarah replied.

"The half metal has a point." Derek mockingly agreed. "It's been an entire month and we've been sitting here like a big happy family, when the threat still hasn't gone away."

Alex gave Derek a piercing glare, but decided on not saying anything.

"Mom, I know you're not too lenient on just contacting this guy, especially when we just killed a ton of his men, but Derek and Alex are right. You said we were gonna stop it."

"I know that, John."

"Then let's call!" Alex persisted.

Sarah was hesitant on the persistence on the three, but she knew that she couldn't hold off on it for too much longer. "Fine… I will call Sarkissian."

"Let's hope the bastard didn't already sell it." Derek muttered as he got up from his seat. He had a point. If it's already been almost two months since they first lost the turk, it was possible that he would have sold it to the highest bidder.

Sarah got up from her seat and placed her plate in the sink. "Alright, I'll give him a call." With that, she walked out of the kitchen, while grabbing her cell phone from the countertop.

"I hate being grounded." Chloe sighed annoyingly. She played with the food on her plate, refusing to eat much. She didn't have much of an appetite since she had gotten drunk at Cherie's party, several weeks ago.

"Tomorrow me and John have a field trip to the science museum." Cameron replied. "It's going to be tight."

Alex noticed that Chloe was scratching her face vigorously. She still had a ton of scabs from the scratches she sustained from a rose bush. "I'd stop picking at that if I were you. Scars suck."

"I'll just wear makeup like the metal." Chloe shrugged. "I still don't know how I exactly got them either. Did a cat attack me or something?"

"Uhh… sure?" John lied. He didn't want Chloe's and Cameron's relationship to be more sour because Cameron had rolled her off of the roof. He wasn't sure how'd she react to learning about Cameron's actions.

"Cherie is allergic to cats." Cameron stated. Everyone turned to look at Cameron with confusion. "I read it in her school file."

"Then what the hell attacked me?" Chloe inquired confusingly.

 _Please don't say anything, please don't say anything._ John hoped that Cameron wouldn't answer that question.

"I rolled you off of Cherie's roof, and onto a rose bush." Cameron answered.

 _Dammit, Cameron!_ John mentally scolded. He wasn't surprised that she did so either, but the fact that she would sometimes say what was on her mind got extremely annoying.

"You rolled me off of a building and onto a rose bush?" Chloe repeated, clarifying Cameron's response.

The machine nodded simply nodded.

"Huh. Surprised it didn't kill me, then." Chloe shrugged and took a sip of her water. John was beyond surprised. He expected Chloe to start yelling and throwing stuff at Cameron, but what he got was the complete opposite. It was almost as if she didn't care for Cameron's actions.

Several minutes went by until Chloe abruptly set down her glass of water. "Wait a minute!" Was this when I got drunk?"

"Yes." Cameron and John both answered.

"Dammit, Cameron, why didn't you roll me into something else!?"

 _There's the Chloe I know and love,_ John chuckled. Almost when he thought his cousin's outlook on Cameron was beginning to change, he was wrong. But in reality, their relationship was becoming much more tolerable. They bicker less than normal and Chloe would poke fun at Cameron in a friendly way. He was happy to see them somewhat get along.

 _ **Los Angeles California, November 14, 2007: (FBI Field Office)**_

 _ **10:35 am**_

FBI Agent Aldridge sat in his office, writing down reports into a folder. Even with Ellison's help, they haven't gotten very far in their Sarah Connor investigation, besides the hand that was still kept in deep freeze.

He was determined to find answers of these machines- this Skynet. He wanted to know the truth. Was Sarah Connor right? Or was she just a nut job who liked to rant nonsense because she was diagnosed as a skitsofrenic. Either way, he was going to find out the truth. But how could he with no leads? It had already been an entire month since anything strange occurred.

A man walked into Aldridge's office, holding a folder in his hand and set it down on his desk. "I got something that you need to take a look into." He informed.

Aldridge looked at the folder in front of him in confusion. "What is it?"

"Missing persons case." The Agent informed.

Aldridge began to look through the documents in confusion. "Missing person?" Aldridge inquired. "Shouldn't that be a job for the police?"

"It usually is, but the missing person is an FBI informative named Arnold Jackson." The man explained. "I need you to visit his property in Beverly Hills and see what you can find on his disappearance."

"Do I have a search warrant?" Aldridge then asked.

"Everything you need is in that folder. Good luck, Agent." The man bid farewell and walked out of Aldridge's office.

Aldridge opened the folder and pulled out the documents inside. Sure enough everything was present. But why him? His hands were already full with helping Ellison in finding the truth on machines, so why was he tasked with taking this job? He really had no say in the matter, so he decided that the sooner he got it done, the better.

Aldridge got up off of his chair and threw his suit jacket on; before grabbing the folder, and exiting his office. _Might as well just get this over with._

 _ **Los Angeles California, November 14, 2007: (Connor Residence)**_

 _ **1:00 pm**_

 _That went well! First, we show up to the location he wanted us to meet at, and we get stood up._ Sarah was beginning to think that this whole Sarkissian thing was a sham. It was possible he didn't even have it anymore anyway. After being stood up, Sarah and Derek returned back home. Now they needed another plan of action. They needed to find and destroy the Turk or its possible that it would become Skynet.

As the two entered through the front door, they were greeted with a man sitting on the sofa with a smirk written on his face. Sarah and Derek immediately drew their weapons and aimed at the man. They were confused as to who he was or why he was here. He didn't seem like a machine. Terminators didn't sit down and wait for their targets to come to them.

"Sarah Connor, so nice to finally meet you." The man greeted. "You know, a woman... She calls my cell phone. She says she's interesting in buying this... Very special computer. Now, what do you do? You just turn around and you just sell it? Well, maybe…"

The man stood up, which prompted Derek to side step the man and stand in front of Sarah. He didn't know exactly why he did so, all he knew was that he felt obligated to protect Sarah Connor for some odd reason. She is his General's mother after all.

"You're very beautiful. For a dead woman."

Sarah now knew who this man was. It was Sarkissian. The man who had the Turk. The man who's men they killed just to find the Turk. If he was who that thug said he was, then she knew that he wasn't to be trifled with. But how did he know who they were? How did he know who she was?

"Just let us pay you for the computer, and you'll never hear from us again." Sarah said in a calm manner. She didn't want to risk making him angry. Not in the current situation they were in.

Sarkissian chuckled. "If I was gonna sell you the Turk, you'd have had it by now. So this is my counter offer. The money you was gonna pay me for the Turk, you take that number and you multiply it by four."

Sarah's eyes widened in disbelief. "Two million dollars?" _That's just ludicrous! How do we get two million dollars?_

"You're a fugitive, Miss Connor. Might make that a small price for freedom."

Suddenly, Derek angrily grabbed the man by the shirt, and threw him against the wall. "Here's my counter offer." He sneered as he drew his weapon and aimed it at Sarkissian's chest. "You tell us where the Turk is, we keep our money, and I bury you in the backyard."

Sarkissian had a look of serious written on his face instead of fear. It was enough to even bring chills to Sarah. "Will you listen to me, if I don't walk out of here in ten minutes, my people are instructed to call the FBI, and tell them everything I know."

"Your people?" Sarah inquired.

"Yeah." Sarkissian smirked. "My people. Same people who are watching your son and daughter. They're on a field trip, aren't they? With their class? Science museum, I believe."

The thought of relating Cameron as her daughter wanted to make Sarah wince, but she managed to suppress the urge to gag.

Derek chuckled. He already knew that John wasn't going to be harmed. He was actually glad that for once, he was with a terminator. "Your people have no idea what they're walking into."

"Derek!" Sarah barked. Even if she knew that Cameron was doing her job, she still didn't want to antagonize Sarkissian. If a man had the power to know their names, this history. If he was threatening to call the FBI, then he definitely wasn't a man to be messing with. At least, not right now. Not with a plan set in motion. "How long do we have to get the money?"

"You got twenty four hours." Sarkissian informed. With that, Derek reluctantly eased off of the man; Where Sarkissian walked out of the house.

"Follow him." Sarah ordered Derek. If they knew his location, then maybe later they could send Alex and Cameron to help them deal with him.

 _ **Los Angeles California, November 14, 2007: (California Science Center)**_

 _ **1:18 pm**_

The past few weeks have been relatively short for John. School was the same, week after week, and he along with Chloe and Cameron, weren't allowed to leave the house after the party incident. Not that he didn't mind, in fact he was delighted to hang out with Cameron more. They did homework together, watched movies, and just overall was never a topic to ask, so John would ask about her. He was always curious to know more about her. Not just the servo motors and wiring underneath her fake skin, but what she actually thought.

But alas, after almost three weeks of isolation, they were now at the _California Science Center_. It was just a fun little trip organized by the school's science department before Fall break. Anything beat having to sit through another hour and a half of lecturing on organisms.

Cameron walked alongside John as they were led through a tour of the exhibits. To her it was fascinating to see the remnants of the dinosaurs. Species that once dominated the world, but we're now just fossilized bones. The fact that this was her first time seeing such artifacts were unique as well, considering all traces were wiped when the bombs dropped on Judgement Day. Entire records lost, but she was now marveling in their still present dominance in the large room.

Cameron listened intently on what the tour guide had to say about each artifact, as she recorded it into her memory banks for later analysis. Later she knew that the teacher would probably give a test on what they learned.

She glanced to her left and noticed John staring off into space, with both of his earphones in.

 _He doesn't seem very talkative today. Did I do something wrong?_

Cameron looked forward and saw two of their peers in front of them. They were flirting by the looks of it. Cameron could tell by their posture, and voice pitch as they conversed. The two didn't hold hands, but instead giggled and bumped into one another with their shoulders.

She calculated that in order to _brighten_ John's mood, she had to play with him. If it worked for the two in front of them, then it should surely work for her and John, right? Cameron analyzed the pattern of the two and copied their movements, and lightly bumping into John's shoulder. But due to him not paying attention, he stumbled to the side, almost tripping over his feet.

"Don't trip, Baum!" One student mocked from the very back. John fumed in anger, but didn't say anything in return.

"Why the hell did you do that?" John sneered angrily. By the tone of his voice, Cameron could tell that he was embarrassed.

"You should pay more attention to your footing." Cameron monotonously stated.

"Yeah, well I didn't expect you to lose yours!" John scoffed. He began to pick up his pace and stormed away from Cameron as much as he could.

 _I definitely did something wrong._

Cameron caught up to him just as the group had stopped in front of the museum's main attraction: A Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton. John looked up at the massive fossil deep in thought, while Cameron stood behind him. She knew something was bothering him. The last few days, he had been very distant.

"You're upset." Cameron stated from behind. John broke from his thoughts and looked behind him to glance at his beautiful cyborg protector.

"What?" John inquired.

"You're upset." Cameron repeated. "Why?" She then asked.

"It's nothing."

But it really wasn't just nothing. Ever since yesterday he had been upset at something, but Cameron didn't know what was bothering him.

"All right, my birthday is tomorrow, Okay? I know that mom totally forgot."

"Birthday?" Cameron tilted her head to the side.

"Yeah, you don't know what a birthday is?" John inquired.

"It's the day you were born." Cameron answered.

"Pretty memorable for a mother, right?" John sarcastically remarked.

"But it was sixteen years ago." Cameron then stated. _Why is he worried about something that occurred a long time ago?_

"No, a birthday is like a holiday. Like once a year, every year, people just kind of... celebrate you, I guess?" John explained. "You get presents and you eat cake and... it's fun. It's supposed to be. Last year, mom got me a flak jacket." Cameron was sometimes difficult to explain things too. She didn't entirely understand human culture such as birthdays.

"That's a tight present." Cameron replied.

"No, it's not." John disagreed. "Whatever... look, I don't know why I care. I've been driving since I was twelve, and technically, this is my twenty fourth birthday. It's just I... time traveled over eight of them."

Cameron began to ponder on John's reason for being upset. It now made sense as to why his pulse elevated whenever Sarah was present. But it still didn't make sense to her as to why he would be. It was illogical. Then another question suddenly came to mind.

"Do I have a birthday?"

John didn't expect her to ask that question. Her innocence and curiosity made her so adorable, especially with the added glint of confusion written on her face. "I don't know. Were you born?"

"I was built."

"Well, then, maybe you have like a built day." John chuckled. He started wondering what kind of present would be appropriate for a killing machine. He had to admit that Cameron had that charm about her. When she was confused and he had to explain, it made the the problem he had, seem less terrible.

"Hey, John, listen to this." Morris announced. The two saw Morris join them and hand John one of his earphones.

While the two conversed about music, Cameron caught someone staring at them in the corner of her eye. She began running an analysis on the man.

Sure enough, the she didn't recognize the man. He was of Asian decent and had long black hair. He didn't seem to imposing, but she didn't want to take any chances. Not with John being here, where he could be potentially harmed.

Cameron began to make her away towards the man, all while locking her eyes, making sure he didn't leave her sights. Luckily the teacher was too busy making sure two students stop fighting, so she was able to slip away.

The man lacked any tailing skills whatsoever, as he tried tried to play it off as if he were just a normal tourist. But Cameron could see right through him, and quite frankly, she wasn't impressed.

Cameron tailed the man as he had walked into the next gallery and had entered through a set of doors that led outside. For a moment she had lost visual, but immediately regained it, when she saw him speed walking to through the parking lot.

She gave chase and began sprint at him. In panic the man picked up his pace and ran to his vehicle; Where he fumbled for the keys.

The moment that could be best described for the man, was that his feet had left the ground. He knew that he was somehow being held by Cameron, but wasn't quite sure how she was completing this incredible feat of strength.

"Who are you?" Cameron demanded in a blank tone.

No response.

Cameron knew could take this man as prisoner and interrogate him for information, but given circumstances of their current location, it would prove very difficult. If she very to keep him alive, he would very well just try and get anyone's attention that he is in danger. She couldn't take any risks.

With a final decision made, Cameron released the man from her grasp, where he fell onto the asphalt road below. Thinking that he was free, the man began crawling away; until a foot met his head, and his neck was immediately snapped.

With the main threat neutralized, Cameron dragged his body, and threw it into the trunk of what appeared to be his vehicle; and closed the trunk.

Just as she had closed the trunk, John had came running up to her with an annoyed expression.

"There you are! Where were you?" John inquired.

"I killed a man and stuffed him in the trunk." Cameron simply answered. _Isn't it obvious? Maybe not. He probably didn't see._

John thought about interjecting, but he knew that there was no time for that. "Anyway, mom said we need to get home, right away."

Cameron simply nodded and walked to the front driver's seat of the grey sedan. John knew that this wasn't their car, but due to there being the very high possibility of a dead man being in the trunk, he decided that now was not the time to be playing twenty one questions; and hopped into the passenger seat.

John waited as Cameron sat in place looking around for some unknown reason. "What now?"

"The key isn't in here." Cameron explained in confusion as she searched between the seats and sun visor.

That was surprising for John to say the least. Usually, terminator's would just hot wire the vehicle, not look for a key. The only time he saw a terminator even look for a key was when he had taught Uncle Bob.

"Why don't you just _hot wire it_?"

"Sarah said I should stop hot wiring cars if it is unnecessary."

"Well, maybe the key is still on the _guy_ you just killed." John clarified.

"Oh." Cameron mouthed in surprise. She left the vehicle and returned a moment later with the keys in hand. "You were right."

"Am I ever wrong?" John chuckled.

"Yes."

Before John could say anything, She started the car and backed out of the parking space; and the two made their way down the highway, with one destination being their main priority.

 _ **Los Angeles California, November 14, 2007: (Connor Residence)**_

 _ **1:47 pm**_

Back home, John and Cameron arrived, and had parked the car inside the shed, located in the backyard. John had ran inside to retrieve his mother, in which she followed him in. Derek arrived not too long after and informed them that he had lost Sarkissian at Chenagua Pass. Once everyone was inside, they all stood around the trunk where Cameron opened it, revealing the dead man.

"So you actually did kill someone." John sighed irritably. _Once a machine, always a machine I guess._

"He was a threat to us." Cameron replied. She didn't know who he was, but if they were watching them, then she had every reason to believe he intended harm.

"Did he say anything?" John then asked. "A name, a location?"

"He said very little. And then he was quiet."

"This must be the guy that Sarkissian informed us was watching you two." Derek explained to John and Cameron.

"Damn it!" Sarah exclaimed in an angry tone. "We have to find him."

"What we have to do, is we have to get out of this house." Derek suggested. Now with a crazed man on their asses, they needed to get as far as they could.

Suddenly, the shed door behind them opened, with Alex and Chloe entering inside before closing the door shut. "We got your message. What happened?"

"Sarkissian. He knows who we are and is threatening two million dollars out of us." Derek explained.

"What?" Chloe inquired. "How does he know us?"

"We're not sure." Sarah shrugged. "All we know is that if we don't pay, we are back on the radar." Again they'd have to run from the law. Again they'd have to hide. She knew John didn't like that idea, and she strongly agreed with her son. "We need to leave."

He couldn't believe this again. Once fear had struck his mother, she was prepared to run away with her tail between her legs. "No, we're not moving!" John argued.

"He knows where we live, John." Derek sternly pointed out.

"I don't care. We're not running, not today." John persisted.

"This house has a bullseye painted on the front door!" Derek honestly couldn't believe that he was arguing with his future General in this manner. He knew his future counterpart was stubborn at times, but he still expected him to use common sense.

Everyone was interrupted when a phone began to rang with an _AC/DC_ ringtone. They all immediately began to check their pockets, trying to find the source.

"Okay, that's not mine." Chloe acknowledged, as she felt around for her cell phone. "Who's phone is playing that God awful music?"

Everyone turned their attention to the body that still lied in the trunk. The noise appeared to be originating from his coat pocket.

Chloe and Alex joined everyone else and looked down at the body. "Oh, that's just beautiful." Alex sarcastically muttered. "Why is there a dead Jackie Chan in the trunk?"

"What do you think?" Derek looked up at Cameron with a sour face expression. Alex knew what he was implying. It was a no Brainer either.

Cameron killed the Jackie Chan doppelganger.

Sarah fished the phone out of the dead man's coat and handed it to Cameron. "Do your thing."

Cameron nodded and took the phone from Sarah and answered. "Hello?" She said in the dead man's voice.

 _"Are you still watching those kids?"_ Sarkissian asked over the line.

Cameron slightly paused and looked up at John before speaking again. "I got my eye on them right now."

 _"Well, I think they had someone follow me. No more games. Bring them back here."_

With no further questions, Cameron snapped the phone closed am tossed it back into the trunk.

"Here?" Derek inquired. "Where's _here_?"

Everyone replied with a shrug.

"Okay, so he's expecting this guy to show up there any minute. And when he doesn't, the first place he's gonna come is here."

John saw his mother begin to start pacing frantically again, back and forth in the shed. He knew she was worried. "Mom…"

"We can't stay here, John. Not while he's out there. It's too risky. I'm sorry."

John looked at the ground in defeat. Deep down he knew his mother was right. They were not going to stop Skynet if they were dead. In probably a few hours, they'd be leaving Los Angeles and would go back into hiding. There they'd wait until the bombs drop, where he'd start his destiny. His fate; one whom he didn't want.

"Maybe we don't have to run."

Everyone turned their attention to Alex who in turned looked back up at them.

"What did you say?" Derek asked.

"We don't have to run." Alex repeated. "What if we ask Keran?"

"And why would we do that?" Sarah inquired. She hoped to never see that woman again; even so much as mention her.

"She seemed to know this operation pretty well. Maybe she could give us a location?" Alex began explaining. "We should try, at least. And _AC/DC_ is not awful!" The last part, she directed at Chloe. In response, she just rolled her eyes.

John could see that look of hesitation written on her mother's face. He could tell that she didn't want to see Keran again. "Mom… it's our only shot at ending this. We have to try."

"I know that," Sarah said in a tense tone. "Fine. But how do we find her, anyway?"

"I may have already found her." Chloe announced to everyone, as she held a laptop in her hand and typed with her free hand. "I remember her saying that she was a veterinarian, so I'm thinking that we can find where she works."

John took a long look at the computer that she was holding and instantly recognized the laptop. It was his brand new one that he'd bought only a few days ago. Plus it was the only one in the house since Chloe didn't own a computer.

"Is that my laptop?" John asked.

"Yup." Chloe simply answered, while not taking her eyes away from the screen.

John rolled his eyes, knowing that he'll have to talk to her later about taking stuff from his room without permission. Chloe gathered in the middle of everyone, and showed them an online article that displayed household animals such as Cats and Dogs of various breeds.

"It's the only Armenian and Russian owned Veterinarian place in the whole city, so it's a safe bet that she'd be working there." Chloe went into a deep explanation.

"Just because it's owned by people of her enethisity, doesn't mean that she'd automatically be working there, Chloe." Derek scolded his daughter.

"Wait, hold on… there is a list of the doctors too." She pulled up the link, and sure enough, Keran's name and picture was one of the first displayed. "Ha! See, I was right!" Chloe then said cheerfully.

"Well, I'll be damned." Derek grumbled.

"Is there an address?" Sarah redirected the subject.

"Uhh, hold on a second…"Chloe muttered as she scrolled down the page. "Ah ha! Okay, it's Eagle Rock Boulevard."

"Good, now we have a location." John smirked. "Nice job, Chloe."

Chloe gave John a small smile. She was glad to be appreciated on her fifteen seconds of quick research. Cameron noticed the exchange between the two and intervened.

"What about me? I talked to Sarkissian."

"And you did a good job too, Cam." John also have her a smirk. He then turned his attention back to his mother. "We now know where we're going next, so let's go."

•••

 **Author's Note: Another chapter finished! This one was more simpler to write because I had one goal in mind. Have this little storyline finished by the end of next month. We are almost to the conclusion, I'm glad to say, and I can finally venture off into what I envisioned. This was also very short, and a tad bit boring, but it should begin to pace up in terms of action.**

 **For those who review and like this story, I just want to say thank you for the positive feedback. Even if it's negative, it motivates me to work harder on quality. I can't wait to explore what the Connor's adventure will lead them on in this alternate timeline. The next chapter, if not, the one after, will wrap up the storyline and will ease into my version of Season 2.**

 **Reviews and Constructive criticism are gladly appreciated!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Terminator: No Fate But What We Make**

 **Chapter 16**

 ** _Los Angeles, California, November 14, 2007: Beverly Hills (Jackson Residence)_**

FBI Agent Aldridge parked his company car right in front of Arnold Jackson's residence. He had to say he was definitely impressed by the size of the property. Not just the house was big, but also the surrounding yard, and other structures. There was a four car garage and a beautiful front garden. Well… it was.

Due to Jackson being missing, the garden went unkempt and had dried out with no one to water it. He wondered what happened to any gardeners or maids that would've most definitely completed the task. Maybe since he had been missing for so long, they just quit?

Aldridge took a deep breath and got out of his car, where he then waltzes into the property. _Alright, the sooner you get this done, the sooner you can get back to hunting future cyborgs._

He began to make his way inside the property and had noticed that for some reason the front gate was wide open. That was unusual, considering most celebrities and businessmen had a tight security system in place, just in case crazy fans and people looking for trouble came about.

Aldridge walked through the gate and started towards the front door. Once he approached he knocked on the door first, just to see if all of the evidence, he was given, added up. As he expected, no one answered. He was definitely missing. It seemed that he most likely ran to avoid taxes like most businessmen do.

Then, out of nowhere, Aldridge heard the door unlock, and it opened slightly. He was astonished that someone was here because he was not expecting anyone now. He peeked inside and what he saw turned his blood cold. He felt the hairs on his body stand up as a shiver ran down his spine.

Standing outside his door was that machine disguised as a young woman. His mind began to race wildly. He had no idea what to do. He knew it has come to kill him but why him? It was not possible for the machine to know that he knows about its true nature. What should he do? Escape?

But he knew he cannot outrun the machine, so the only option he had left was to directly confront it. He gulped in fear, but rubbed away the sweat that formed on his forehead and opened the door with a neutral expression on his face.

"Yes?" The girl asked in a polite manner.

"Uhh… yes, hello. I'm looking for Mr Jackson." Aldridge asked. For some unknown reason, his collar began to feel a little tight.

"He isn't home at the moment… he's on a business trip." The girl informed with a bright smile.

"Oh, okay, I wasn't informed. Do you know when he'll be back?" Aldridge asked. From what Ellison had told him, and from the news, she was not a threat to be taken lightly. He knew Jackson was dead. Either that or he did actually flee the country, and it was just using the vacant house for some reason.

"Not sure. Maybe a few months?" The girl said unsure of herself.

"Okay, I'll speak to him when he gets back." Aldridge forced a smile. "Thank you for your time." He turned on his heels and walked away from the front door, until he was far away enough to actually recollect himself.

He hopped into his car and immediately blasted the AC where he took one long deep breath. He didn't realize he was sweating so much. More so he was surprised that his nervous sweating didn't give him up as being unusual or scared. He needed to inform Ellison about this. As soon as he could.

As Aldridge drove down the road, he took one more look down from the gate, and onto the house. There, he saw the machine standing directly in the doorway, and following his car as it passed by.

That brought even more chills down his spine. Why was she just staring at him like that? She would've killed him if she was suspicious, so why let him go?

There was no time for questions that could and would be right. Aldridge just needed to focus on one task: Finding Ellison.

 ** _Los Angeles California, November 14, 2007: (Eagle Rock Boulevard)_**

Everyone sat inside the SUV, which was parked across the street from the local animal hospital. Sarah and Derek scoped out the scene while in the front seat, and everyone else sat in the back. A lot had happened in the coming hours. It was barely past noon and they were already on the hunt for someone who had threatened their lives. They couldn't and wouldn't allow that to happen. Not with their mission at stake.

"So, what do you see?" John asked his mother.

"Nothing yet." Sarah responded. "It doesn't appear to be crawling with any Armenian thugs from what I can tell."

"Yeah, same here." Derek agreed. "The only threat we have to worry about is if that little pooch, that old lady brought in, is an ankle biter."

Everyone gave Derek a weird glare, but decided to ignore his remark and turn their attention back to the task at hand. "Okay, so we just go inside, ask for Keran, have her tell us anything she knows, and we can be on our way." Alex explained the long plan she had in mind.

"And if she's not here?" Derek then questioned. "What if it's her day off or she's just not here?"

"It's literally a Wednesday, Derek. How is she not going to be here?" Alex inquired confusingly.

"She could be sick." Cameron pointed out from behind Alex.

"Oh, whatever!" She pouted. _Why can't everyone see my view?_ "Let's just get this over with."

Sarah nodded in agreement and turned her head to look into the back. "Alright, Chloe. You're with me." She motioned with her head. Chloe agreed and got out of the vehicle, which caused outrage for Alex.

"Wait, what!?" Alex exclaimed. "Why her!?" _This was my plan!_

"Shut up, Alex." Sarah ordered. "You may not be like Tin Miss here, but the animals could probably smell you as the same." Sarah never had seen Alex interact with animals, so she couldn't guess what dogs smelled her as. Human, or machine?

"Just be quick." Derek muttered from the passenger seat. He honestly didn't care who went with Sarah. He just didn't want to have to deal with potential yapping dogs.

"Will do. Just wait here, me and Chloe won't be long." With everything said, the two made their way away from the vehicle and entered the small business. Inside, they were greeted with several people all sitting in the waiting room. Chloe took a long look at the different types of animals present. There were mostly bigger breeds of dog that idly stood by their owner's side. But there were also some smaller breeds, too.

One chihuahua looked straight at Chloe, while it was sat on their owners lap, and began yapping uncontrollably until the owner shushed it. _Didn't know they made chew toy versions of dogs._

Sarah and Chloe made their way to the front desk, where they were greeted by an elderly woman flipping through a magazine.

"Hello, we are looking for Keran Azadian." Sarah asked the older woman with a smile.

The elderly woman slowly looked at Sarah and Chloe and set down her magazine. "You and everyone else." She pointed at the vast crowd behind them. "Sign in and wait your turn."

"Sarah, the chew toy is staring into my soul," Chloe tugged at her aunt's sleeve. Apparently she had been staring at the small dog the whole time while Sarah had been talking to the old desk clerk.

Sarah turned her head to look at the yapping chihuahua and back at the old woman. "Screw this, we don't have time for this bullshit." She walked around the counter and went down the hall, with Chloe following closely behind. The old woman yelled at them, but Sarah ignored it.

As they rounded the hall, they checked each room, to see if anyone was inside, but almost everyone was vacant. All except the last examination room. They walked through the open door, to find a middle aged woman and who appeared to be her daughter, holding a small cat. And lastly who they were looking for. Keran.

"Sarah!" She uttered in complete surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk." Sarah demanded. "Right now."

"Excuse me, we were here first!" The woman spat in Sarah's face.

Sarah glared at the woman for a long moment. She was fairly obese for her age, and her daughter looked fairly skinny. She definitely had that haircut that screamed _I want to speak to the manager._

"Really? I wasn't aware." Sarah sarcastically scoffed. "How about you go get some more McDonald's, and wait for a damn moment!"

The woman seemed to take offense to Sarah's attempt at insulting her and stormed out of the room with her daughter in tow.

"She forgot the cat." Chloe pointed out. The fat, white, and black cat just sat on the small operating table, staring up at them.

"I have to look over her tonight for signs of tumors anyway." Keran acknowledged. She then turned her attention back to Sarah. "We can talk in my office." She led the two out of the examination room and into her office where her and Sarah took a seat in one of the chairs. Chloe was the last one to close the door, but the two noticed that she had brought the cat along with her.

"Chloe, put that thing down." Sarah ordered.

"I just want to hold something I used to think of as food." Chloe pouted. Sarah still glared at her, while Keran just stared at the young blonde with her eyes widened. "Okay, fine!" She left the room and returned a moment later, but this time without the cat.

"Okay, so what did you need, Sarah?" Keran inquired confusingly, as her hands began to fidget with a pen.

Sarah could tell that she was nervous to be seeing them again. Honestly, she didn't blame her at all. She didn't want to be here, but there was no choice. "We need to find Sarkissian."

Keran's eyes widened. "W-what? Why?"

"Today, he paid us a visit. Threatened me and my family. I need to know where he is so I can put a stop to this." Sarah explained.

"What makes you think I even know, Sarah?" Keran staggered.

"Because _you_ worked for him at one point." Chloe factly pointed out.

"As a slave who tortures people, and works on his men!" Keran argued. "I spent months inside that camp!"

"Keran, look." Sarah spoke up again. "You are our only hope in finding Sarkissian. If you help us, we can help you. He and his people won't be able to find and hurt you again, if you just tell us an information you have."

Keran didn't answer, her eyes diverted to look down at the pen she was still playing with.

"Guess dad was right. This was just a waste of time." Chloe sighed. She and Sarah got up from their seats and headed for the door.

"Wait!" Keran halted the two. They turned back and saw Keran round the table and approach them. "All I know is that there is a small Café not too far from here. It's where they mainly operate from. That's where you should possibly find him."

"Thank you, Keran." Sarah smiled in satisfaction. "I promise, this will be the last time you see or even hear of us."

"Goodluck, Sarah." Keran smiled. She did the unexpected and suddenly hugged Sarah, which forced her to hug back. "Kill the son of a bitch for me."

"I will." Sarah assured.

The two left the short embrace, and with that being said; Sarah and Chloe departed and went back to the car.

With the two gone, Keran sat back down at her desk, where she grabbed the office phone and punched in several numbers. The line rang for a few seconds until someone picked up.

" _Hello, Keran."_ The voice greeted from the other line.

"You were right. They did show up." Keran muttered with astonishment.

" _Good. They are predictable. Did you do as I asked?"_ The voice then asked.

"Yes." Keran acknowledged. "The tracker has been placed."

 ** _Los Angeles California, November 14, 2007: (FBI Field Office)_**

Agent Ellison sat in his office, like he always did. But this time, instead of filling out paperwork, or studying another case, he was enjoying a burger and fries that he had bought while he was on his lunch break. With no case on his agenda at the moment, he thought that he'd take a little well deserved break, and relax. But he knew that eventually, someone would come through that office door with some type of case that needed solving.

Suddenly, the door flung open, and Aldridge rushed inside. "James, I need to talk to you!"

 _Well… that was ironic. Guess the relaxing part is out of the question._

"Come in." Ellison decided on saying, even though Aldridge was sprawled out in one of his chairs and breathing very heavily. "What's wrong with you? You look like you've seen a ghost."

" _I did_ see a ghost!" Aldridge exclaimed. "Today at Arnold Jackson's house, I saw it!"

"Saw what, exactly?" Ellison curiously inquired.

"The blonde from the videos. The machine!" Aldridge explained.

"What the hell you guys talking about?" Two men chuckled from the doorway. Ellison and Aldridge looked at the two men, and recognized them as two rookie agents, intervening on them. They had heard some of the conversation, but not enough to know full details.

Ellison decided against answering such a stupid question, and walked over to the door, and slammed it shut. He then walked back over to his seat and fell back into it.

"Where did you see the machine at?" Ellison then asked. This was the first lead they had in almost two months. Evidence if handled properly, could lead in the revelations that machines walk amongst humans.

"Like I said, I saw her at the Jackson residence." Aldridge repeated. "She looked different somehow, though. Her hair was dark, and she appeared to look…. Well…. not like a killing machine."

"So you say she altered her appearance, and killed Arnold Jackson." Aldridge nodded. "For what? What is her reason? What even makes you think it was her, anyway?"

"I don't know, James. But whatever it is, it seems that she is going on a killing spree." Aldridge shrugged. "The girl from New Mexico, the victim from downtown. And now, one of the most famous businessmen in the world, is probably lying dead underneath the house or something!"

"Doesn't make any sense. Why would she kill a businessman?" Ellison murmured.

"How do we stop her, James?"

"I don't know. I honestly don't know." Ellison sighed in frustration.

The two sat in silence, trying to devise a plan. So far they came up blank. That is, until a bulb had shone bright in Aldridge's mind. "She is still wanted from the murder of Nicholas Hernandez. Is there still the Warrant for her arrest?"

"Warrants don't go away, Aldridge." Ellison pointed out. "What are you proposing?"

"She's dangerous." Aldridge began. "You said it yourself. I think we should send in the cavalry."

"Send in the SWAT?" Ellison was taken aback.

"If what those reports from the police station, back in 83 are true, then we'll need more than just the SWAT for this one."

"Well the SWAT is all we have." Ellison sadly pointed out. "Unless we call in the National Guard, I don't think we really get a choice in this matter."

"Then, we'll need more of them." Aldridge hesitantly agreed. "They'll need extra ammunition, if possible, and extra armour if they are going to fight this thing."

"You're not expecting her to surrender, huh?" Ellison sat back in his chair. He already knew the answer to his question.

"You and me both know that this shouldn't be taken lightly." Aldridge said with all seriousness.

"Agreed." Ellison stood up and adjusted his tie. "Let's go catch us a robot."

 ** _Los Angeles California, November 14, 2007: (Internet Café)_**

After driving across town for almost an hour already, they finally made it. The location that Keran had given them to where Sarkissian _supposedly_ was. As the vehicle came to a stop across the street, Sarah and Cameron immediately recognized the place. It was the first place they were supposed to meet, to negotiate about buying the turk. Too bad that plan failed badly. Now, instead of being here for a business transaction, they were here to kill him.

Everyone stepped out of the car, and crossed the street, where they entered the partially empty Café. Only two people seemed to be there, and the Clerk was behind the counter, cleaning a few coffee mugs.

"Where is he?!" Derek demanded in a stern tone.

"Who?" The Clerk inquired confusingly. The response to his question, was Sarah grabbing him by the shirt collar and slamming his forehead on the countertop.

"He! Need I repeat?" Sarah barked.

The Clerk hesitantly pointed at the open doorway that led to the back. Sarah released the Clerk from his grasp, and the six rush into the back room. Barley recovering from the sudden attack by Sarah, the Clerk pressed a small red button that was located underneath the counter.

The six had passed an office, and saw Sarkissian disappear around a corner. They gave chase, and followed him, until he had went into a room, and closed the door. The door seemed to be made of very thick steel, almost reminiscent to the material that the bank vault used. Sarah tried opening it, but it was no use. It was locked.

"John, Chloe, go check the office. See if he stashed the Turk in there." John and Chloe nodded and ran back to the empty office. Sarah then turned her attention to Cameron. "Can you get through the door?"

Cameron began to meticulously study the door frame, and the concrete wall that surrounded it. "Yes, but the wall would be much faster." She explained. "Alex, I need your help."

Alex sighed. "I hoped you wouldn't ask. Wasn't really keen on having bloody knuckles for the next few days." The two got into position, and began to use their fists to pummel the concrete bricks, as they began to crack and the whole area shook.

•••

Meanwhile, inside Sarkissian's office, both Chloe and John were frantically searching through boxes and filing cabinets to see where he had hidden the Turk. So far they couldn't find anything. "This is bullshit!" Chloe exclaimed in frustration. "It should be here!"

"We just have to keep looking." John assured his cousin. He went back to searching and came across a small janitorial closet. With his curiosity peaked, he opened the door. But to his surprise, there was a little girl seated at a small table, drawing on a coloring book. "Hi. What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for my daddy to finish work." The little girl answered.

Just then, the whole room shook violently, and loud crashing could be heard. "Okay, listen. I need you to stay in this room with the door closed, okay? Even if you hear loud noises or you get scared, you need to stay in here. Can you do that for me?"

"Yeah." The little girl nodded in agreement.

"Okay, good" John smiled. He stood back up and silently closed the door. But when he turned around, he was greeted with Sarkissian holding a knife at Chloe's neck.

"Hello, John. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." Sarkissian smirked. "You realize if you shout, I'll kill your little girlfriend, right?"

"John, make sure you shout so I can kick this dick head in the the dick head!" Chloe spat.

In an attempt, Chloe used her right heel to stomp Sarkissian in the foot. In turn, Sarkissian pushed her and she hit her head on the corner of the wooden desk.

"Guess you get to be my new plus one." Sarkissian smiled. John tried to run out of the room, but he was immediately grabbed by Sarkissian, and was dragged outside, all while a knife was held at his neck.

After Sarkissian had taken John, and left, Derek came rushing into the room. Upon seeing his daughter with blood rushing down the side of her head, and her struggle to stand up, he rushed to her aid.

"What the hell happened?" Derek inquired as he helped his daughter up.

"Sarkissian…. took John." Chloe struggled to say. Her head hurt badly, so it was difficult to think straight.

"Let's get you out of here." Derek insisted. He put his arms around Chloe, but he was instantly pushed away by her.

"No, I'm fine. Really." She reassured. "I may have an idea, though."

•••

Both John and Sarkissian eventually made it outside; just as Sarah, Cameron, and Alex had rushed though the opposite door. They all came to a standoff, where Sarkissian held the knife closer to John's throat. "Move any closer, and I'll make sure your son ends up seven feet under. Would you like that, Miss Connor?"

"Let my son go, or else I'll give you the same treatment!" Sarah sneered.

"I don't think you understand how this works, do you?" Sarkissian chuckled. "Put the gun down, now."

"After you put the knife down!" Sarah snarled.

"Sarah." Alex whispered. "I really do appreciate your incompetence, but I don't think this is how any of this works."

"Shut up." Sarah ignored. She then turned her attention back at Sarkissian, and continued to concentrate her aim at the man, not daring to let him out of her sights.

Then, Derek and Chloe emerged from the door that Sarkissian and John had previously came through. Derek had a little girl accompanying him, and he held his gun at her head. "Let him go."

"Not my kid." Sarkissian chuckled.

"Not mine either." Derek said with seriousness. He looked down at the little girl, and saw that she was terrified. He was scaring her. She was whimpering and had tears falling down her face. He covered her eyes and shushed into her ear. When she couldn't see anymore, Derek quickly aimed his gun at Sarkissian.

But before Derek could fire off the shot that was to take Sarkissians life, a figure suddenly appeared behind Sarkissian, and snatched the knife away from his grasp. Confused as to what just happened, he let go of John, and quickly turned around, only to be met with a pair of glowing blue eyes. Next thing he knew, he felt a searing pain in his neck and he fell down to the ground holding his bleeding neck. His eyes were wide as he looked up to the assailant.

It was a young girl. She was standing over him with her gaze fixed on him. The abnormal thing was her eyes were glowing blue, just like how some animal's eyes glows brightly in the dark.

"Don't touch John." She said.

Then all Sarkissian saw was her boot coming down over his face and in the next second his world turned black as his neck broke with a sickening crunch when Cameron's foot met his neck.

Everyone took a good look at Cameron who was holding the bloody knife and her foot still on Sarkissian's neck.

Sarah rushed up to her son, and engulfed him into a tight hug. "John!"

"God Dammit! You shouldn't have killed him. You tin heads are really thick sometimes." Derek angrily exclaimed. "We could have interrogated him for more information."

In response Cameron said nothing. She was still looking at the dead body of the man she just killed. Then she turned her head towards Derek and gave him a death glare. There was no sign of pity or remorse in her face, only hatred and _anger_. Derek had to cautiously step back a little when her eyes flashed blue again, just for a second.

"Okay. I learned a lesson today: Never mess with John in the future." Chloe said with her eyes wide after seeing the hostility of Cameron.

Derek turned and led the little girl inside. "Let's go inside." He had to say he felt bad for putting such a young innocent child in that type of situation. He didn't even want to begin to think of what was going on in her mind.

After a few minutes of searching for any trace of the Turk, they came up with nothing. They had no way of getting information from Sarkissian now that he was dead.

Alex noticed that the little girl from earlier, didn't leave. She just stood in place and had tears still welled up. She decided to kneel down in front of the little girl and give her some reassurance. "Hey. Was that your daddy out there in the alley?"

"No." The little girl sniffled. "My daddy works in the cafe."

 _That's a relief._ "Do you know how to get back there from here?" The little girl nodded. "How about I take you back to him, hmm?" The little smiled and wiped the tears from her face, and gave Alex a small hug.

Once the girl let go of the embrace, Alex stood back up, and grabbed her hand, before leading her back to the Café. As Alex looked back, she saw Sarah give her a nod of approval.

While searching Sarkissian's desk, John couldn't help but notice the blood that was still trailing down the side of Chloe's face. "Are you sure you're gonna be okay?" John asked concerned.

"I'm fine. Really." Chloe answered. "Nothing a bandage and few aspirin won't fix, anyway."

"When we get home, I want to take a look at it, anyway." John persisted.

"Whatever you say, John." Chloe smirked. She began to fiddle with Sarkissians computer, until she suddenly realized something. She tore off the console shell and ripped out a large rectangular object from it.

"What is that?" Derek inquired.

"Sarkissian's hard drive." Chloe replied. "We may just have something."

 ** _Los Angeles California, November 14, 2007: (Connor Residence)_**

It was done. For the most part, at least. Sarkissian was now dead. Their new threat was eliminated. Even though Cameron had killed him before they could find the Turk, they at least came up with something. Sarkissian's computer hard drive. If this didn't tell them where the Turk was, then they weren't sure what would. It was their only lead.

Both Chloe and John sat in his room, where they both sat together at the desk. Upon returning back home, Sarah had immediately put them to work on getting inside that hard drive to see what kind of information it held. Hopefully the Turk was on there; otherwise they'd be at another dead end.

"Son of a bitch!" Chloe slammed her fist on the desk.

"What's wrong?" John peered from his laptop. Luckily, after the whole Sarkissian incident, earlier today, Sarah and Derek had stopped do buy an extra computer for Chloe to use. Guess they had a feeling that cracking this hard drive was gonna be no walk in the park.

"Sarkissian decided to be a douchebag, and double-encrypt the drive," Chloe explained with a hint of frustration. "I've managed to unlock a lot of it, but there's still a lot left to go through."

"Well, at least we the both of us can get it done much quicker, right?" John chuckled.

"Maybe…." Chloe mused. She kicked back in Johns swivel chair, and spun around with boredom. "Cameron sure was scary today."

"What do you mean?" John inquired.

"When she killed Sarkissian. Her eyes turned blue when she looked at my dad. I almost thought she was gonna kill him too."

"You know Cameron wouldn't do that." John disagreed.

"That is what she is built for, John. As much as you want to believe she isn't, nothing will change her true nature." Chloe persisted.

"There were times when she could have let either of you die. She helped Derek, she even saved you from getting caught by the police after Cherie's party." John explained.

"Yeah, and I got my face scratched up pretty bad as the result." Chloe sarcastically scoffed.

"Whatever. I still think she is much more than a machine, and I'd appreciate if you would too." John sighed defeatedly.

The three sat quietly for a few more minutes, with neither speaking a word. That is, until Chloe spoke up again. "What I could use right now, is some of that ice cream from the other day."

"You mean from that ice cream shop? The one Alex wanted to go to?" John inquired.

"Yes!" Chloe groaned. "That stuff was amazing!"

"Well, maybe we can go when we finish up here." John smirked at his cousin's expense.

"Or, maybe we should go right now."

John and Chloe looked up and saw Alex standing in the doorway, with her arms crossed. "It is your birthday after all, is it not?"

"You knew it was my birthday?" John asked in astonishment.

"Please." Alex scoffed as she took a seat on his bed. "I've celebrated every birthday of yours, up until you were 30."

"You knew me that long?"

"Technically I knew you even longer than that, but yeah." Alex shrugged. "Well, that was until we didn't speak for like _nine years_ but we eventually made up."

"Okay, enough talk about the past, and more talk on some ice cream!" Chloe changed the subject, and stood up.

"You're right!" Alex agreed. "Let's go."

The three stood up and made their way to the door, where they were stopped by Cameron, who was standing right in front of them.

"Where are you going?" She tilted her head in curiosity.

" _We,_ are going to get some ice cream. Wanna come?" John asked politely.

"Yes." Cameron blankly said. "I like chocolate ice cream."

"Never thought a metal would like something as much as lip gloss, that purple Jacket, and chocolate ice cream." Chloe snickered. "Never thought she'd like anything at all."

"Be nice, Chloe." Alex said sternly.

"Oh, come on, I'm just teasing." Chloe pouted.

•••

The four of them went to an ice cream shop, where Alex had bought them each a cone, and had found a table to relax at, and enjoy eating their frozen dairy product. Alex, Chloe, and John were laughing at Cameron because she didn't notice that she had formed a brown mustache while trying to eat her rapidly melting, chocolate ice cream cone.

"Why are you laughing?" Cameron asked with confusion. This was the second time they laughed at her when she was at an ice cream shop, and it didn't make any sense. John was still laughing hard.

John thought she looked really cute now and no one would ever believe that she is the most advanced killing machine that ever existed. He sometimes got confused himself whether Cameron was really just a simple girl, or a terminator sent back from the future.

"Cam, clear your face. You have a moustache." John explained by pointing at his upper lip.

"Oh." Cameron acknowledged, and wiped the bit of melted chocolate from her face with a napkin.

 _Wait for it…._

"Thank you for explaining." Cameron said in her usual stoic tone.

 _There it is! Damn machine is too predictable._

Chloe noticed the small name that John gave the machine. It was one that he had been using quite a bit, since Cherie's party. It was really disgusting to her and she knew he was probably crushing after it. She only frowned a bit, but didn't say anything to ruin the moment.

 _What will he do next? Take it on a date or kiss it?_

After a few moments, when everyone had finished their ice cream, Alex paid the bill and got up. The three of them followed her back to the car. Alex got in the driver's seat and John entered the back seat first, taking the side of the window, behind Alex's seat.

Chloe was about to enter through the opposite side so she could sit next to John, but Cameron beat her to it when she opened the door, and Cameron immediately jumped in and took the middle seat beside John. Chloe just stared at the machine who was sitting beside John.

 _Why does it feel as it is purposely trying to keep me away from John as much as possible?_

Groaning in defeat, Chloe took her seat beside Cameron in the back seat.

Alex silently watched the entire scene unfold through the mirror. She just smirked to herself. She was confused as to why no one took the seat right next to her, but she instantly realized that it was because they were fighting for John's attention. She never thought Cameron could be so protective of him like she was currently displaying. And she already knew that Chloe had a thing for John already.

On their way back home, Chloe had fallen asleep on Cameron's shoulder. It had been a long and stressful day for that fact, so Alex couldn't blame her. Hell, it was just barely five thirty and it seemed like the day had been much longer alone.

Cameron gazed upon Chloe with a confused expression written on her face. Alex noticed Cameron's posture to being very similar to a germaphobe not wanting to touch a used tissue.

Chloe suddenly awoken from her short slumber when she felt her head get pushed back from Cameron's shoulder.

"What the hell was that?!" Chloe inquired angrily. But Cameron didn't answer or even look at her.

Muttering curses under her breath, she folded her arms and stared outside the window. But then she noticed something. John was sleeping on Camerons other shoulder, and she was doing nothing about it.

Instead, Cameron just placed his head in a much more comfortable position on her shoulder so that he wouldn't get cramp in his neck later on. There was also a small smile tugging at the end of Cameron's lips. It was barely noticeable but it was there. And Chloe could see it.

 _What the hell?_ Chloe thought. Alex just kept smiling to herself, just like before.

 ** _Los Angeles, California, November 14, 2007: Beverly Hills (Jackson Residence)_**

A single SWAT van was all that could be seen speeding up the hill, entering the most lavish part of Beverly Hills. In the back of the van, FBI Agents Aldridge and Ellison, sat amongst twelve police officers that were armed to the teeth in riot gear, and were equipped with military grade assault rifles.

"You sure we need such heavy artillery, all to just arrest a small girl?" One of the officers inquired confusingly.

"Trust me, this ain't no little girl, and you should really take her seriously." Ellison sternly explained to the officer. "Let me take the lead first, and don't fire until I give the say so. Got it? We do this my way, and everyone will come out of this alive."

All of the officers nodded in agreement, and went back to checking their weapons. Everyone rode the rest of the way in silence, until the van had rammed through the gate, and came to an immediate stop in front of the mansion.

The van door swung open, and everyone piled out. They all snuck their way to the front door, and lined themselves against the wall, with Ellison and Aldridge being closest to the door. Ellison had motioned at one of the officers who had a battering ram, to get ready. The officer did what he was told, and got into position.

The officer used all of his might, and bashed the ram at the large wooden door several times until it eventually gave, and it flew off of its hinges.

Ellison and Aldridge were the first to storm the house, followed by the rest of the officers. Once inside they surrounded the living room and found their suspect standing in the middle. For some unknown reason, all of the furniture was moved to the side. That left a big empty space.

"You are here by under arrest for the murder of Nicholas Hernandez, and linked to the disappearance of Arnold H. Jackson!" Ellison loudly informed Veronica. One officer had cautiously approached her and took out a pair of handcuffs, and put them around her wrists. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." He wondered why he was reading a machine it's rights.

Then suddenly, before Ellison could finish what he was saying, Veronica had easily broke out of her handcuffs, and ripped the officer's handgun from its holster, before shooting the officer in the head, and firing at two more.

"Fire!" One officer shouted. Everyone aimed their guns at Veronica, and concentrated their fire at her. Each and every bullet had impacted her chest, causing her to flinch in pain. But she absolutely did not go down.

Veronica bolted at one of the officers, and disarmed his assault rifle. She turned the man around, just as the others turned to fire at her once more, but hesitated upon seeing one of their fellow partners being used as a shield. Veronica took advantage of this weakness, and used the officer's MPK and mowed them down.

As each officer was killed, Agent Ellison had dove into cover, behind a wall, where he met with Aldridge being in the same place.

"This is suicide, James!" Aldridge exclaimed.

"We don't have the firepower, or the man power, to take down this thing!" Ellison agreed. He peeked over the wall, and saw as four men had desperately tried to fight her off with some nearby makeshift weapons. But they failed, when Veronica had snatched a kitchen knife from one and had used it to stab each and every one to death.

After several minutes of absolute bloodshed, it was over. The gunfire and screams had stopped. Ellison was the first to peek over the corner, to see what was the current situation. But before he could process another thought, he was grabbed by the forearm and flung across the room, where he smashed through a glass sliding door.

Seeing this, Aldridge backed up in fear, as Veronica followed his movement with intent, not daring to take her eyes off of him.

"P-please, I'm begging you!" Aldridge pleaded.

Veronica tilted just her head in response, and continued to stare down at the crawling man. "You know what I am. Don't you?"

"W-what?" Aldridge stammered.

"They say I'm the devil…. But I'm far worse." Vernonia raised one of the handguns that she had taken off of one of the fallen officers, and had had unloaded the entire clip into Aldridge.

 ** _Los Angeles California, November 14, 2007: (Connor Residence)_**

After some much needed relaxing, everyone had returned home, and John, and Chloe got back to work on decrypting the hard drive. So far, they had managed to get through most of it, which was a relief for them. They had mostly found records on illegal weapons shipments, drug shipments, and even blackmail on public officials and celebrities.

"Damn Sarkissian, and his boy band, has been very busy." Chloe said with astonishment.

"There is a lot of useful information here, but it there is no Turk so far." John pointed out.

Chloe continued typing into the main desktop, until she had come across a photo. Well one of many photos to be exact. The first was of the guy whom Cameron had let die: Dmitri. The next was some middle aged bald man, and the last was Sarah. It made sense as to why she was on there in the first place, it just didn't make sense as how they knew that she was still alive. So the remaining photo out of the three was still a mystery. "Who the hell is this bald guy?" She asked confused.

John took his eye off of his computer, and peered at his cousin's, and studied the same photo. "I'm not sure. Is there a name?"

"Hold up a second." Chloe paused and pulled up more files. There was and record of a transaction between Sarkissian and this unknown man, but no name. "There isn't one."

"Guess we have to keep looking, huh?"

"We do indeed." Chloe giggled. She and John continued to sit in absolute silence, while they concentrated on their individual tasks.

After a few minutes, Sarah entered the room, and just silently observed the two work hard. It warmed her heart to be seeing John spend time with someone who was not here and was not machine in any way, shape or form. "Ahem." She coughed, and gaining their attention.

"Hey, Sarah." Chloe acknowledged before getting back to work.

"Hi, Chloe." Sarah waved back. "I can tell you both are working hard."

"Gotta get this done somehow, right?" Chloe replied.

Sarah chuckled, agreeing to Chloe's statement, and looked at her son, who seemed to be trying to avoid her. "Hey Chloe. Do you mind giving me and my son a moment?"

"Um, sure." Chloe accepted and stood up, and maneuvered past Sarah.

As Chloe left the room, and Sarah was sure she was gone, She sat down in the seat Chloe previously occupied and looked at John. "So…. I saw that you guys went out. Do you mind telling me what you were up to?"

"Nothing." John brushed off. "We just went to get some ice cream." In a desperate attempt to change the subject, John printed the photo of the guy, that Chloe found and handed it to his mother. "Here, check this out. Looks like we weren't the only one looking for the Turk."

"Who is this?" Sarah inquired.

"We're not sure. But he came in after Dmitri and before you."

"Enough time for Sarkissian to sell him the Turk." Sarah mused.

"It's not much to go on, but at least it's something."

She had to admit, she was impressed with all that John and Chloe found within the last few hours. It was better than waiting probably days for this kind of information. She put down the piece of paper down on the bed, right next to her, and looked back at her son. "Why don't you take a break?"

"No, no, it's alright," John shook his head. "I can keep going."

"How are we supposed to celebrate your birthday if you're sitting in front of a computer?" Sarah inquired. John glanced upon his mother flabbergasted. He honestly didn't know what to say. "You actually thought I forgot your birthday?"

John looked at his desk in shame. "It's just we have much more important things to think about than my stupid birthday."

" _Your_ birthday is important."

"No, it's not important." John argued. "Finding the Turk, stopping Skynet, Judgment Day…. that's important, that's... that's our life."

"It's our mission. This is our life." Sarah explained. "If we stop caring about that, then we're lost."

"Well, when you put it like that…"

The two sat in silence for a few seconds, until Sarah spoke again. "Hey, I sent Alex to get a cake." She told John with a smile. John couldn't help but break out into laughter. He wondered what kind of trouble Alex would go through, all to just buy a simple cake. "What do you want for dinner?"

"Well, not to insult your cooking or anything, mom, but do you mind if we went out to eat instead?"

Sarah was taken aback by this. But she did have to admit. Her cooking probably wasn't the best for a birthday dinner. "Yeah, we can do that."

"All right, let me just shut this down." He informed. As John was about to log off of his laptop, he accidentally clicked on a new file. The folder opened up, and two photos appeared on the screen. John looked at the photos, speechless. One of them he instantly recognized as Keran Azadian: The veterinarian they only visited a few hours prior. The other was some man. But this man looked exactly like the one from the Café.

"What?" Sarah asked when she saw her son frozen. "What's the matter?"

"The guy that Cameron killed... in the alley." John staggered.

"Sarkissian, right?"

John shook his head in disagreement. "I don't think that was Sarkissian."

 ** _KA BOOM!_**

The two were suddenly interrupted from their conversation, when a loud explosion erupted outside, and the house shook violently. Both John and Sarah looked at each other with confusion to what had just occurred, and stood up. John grabbed his coat and the two made their way out into the hallway, where they met with Chloe, who was also as confused as they were.

"What happened?" Sarah asked the young blonde.

"I don't know. All I heard was something loud." Chloe shrugged. She walked to the nearest window at the end of the hall and peeked outside. What she was able to see, through the front tree's foliage, was a smouldering, and smoking vehicle. "Yeah, I think our jeep, went kamikaze."

"Mom, didn't you send Alex to get a cake?" John asked with desperation.

"I did, but I was sure she'd take the SUV." Sarah responded with perplexity.

"Dad took the SUV earlier." Chloe informed.

"Oh, shit!" Sarah cursed. She began to stomp down the hall, which prompted both John and Chloe to follow.

They made their way downstairs, where Sarah grabbed a hidden Spaz shotgun from the umbrella basket, and checked to make sure it was loaded. Once satisfied, she continued prowling her way to the front door, all while John and Chloe had followed her.

As Sarah had reached the door, she turned the knob. But instead, the door flung open, hitting Sarah in the nose, and forcing her to the ground.

A man had entered the house, and had his gun drawn on Sarah.

Chloe quickly reached for the weapon behind the waistband of her jeans, but she wasn't quick enough. The man had risen his firearm, and fired between her eyes. She fell to the ground, right next to John.

She was dead.

•••

 **Author's Note: That wraps up another chapter. Sorry for the long wait, I've had to plan this very carefully, and I would have never gotten it finished if not for the help of ActionfreakXD. He has provided some great ideas for this chapter.**

 **Reviews and constructive criticism are gladly appreciated!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Terminator: No Fate But What We Make**

 **Chapter 17**

Smoke and fire had spewed all over the place. Shattered glass and burnt metal littered the street. And in the heart of the wreckage, someone lied in what was once the front seat of a Jeep.

 **:SCANNING…**

 **:ENDOSKELETON INTEGRITY COMPROMISED**

 **:SCANNING...**

 **:AWAITING ANALYSIS…**

 **:SCANNING...**

 **:ENDOSKELETON INTEGRITY: 56%**

 **:SCANNING...**

 **:INITIATING STANDBY MODE PROCEDURE**

 **:VIDEO PLAYBACK INITIATED:**

 _She stood in the hallway staring down at a locket. One that she had held for months already. One of her most treasured items._

" _Alex, do you think you could pick up a cake for John?" Sarah asked._

 _Alex got up off of the couch and walked up to Sarah. "Sure, but what do you want me to get?"_

" _Just something, I suppose. Today has been very stressful for us and I want John to actually feel happy."_

" _Okay." Alex agreed. "Yeah, consider it done."_

" _Thanks, Tin Head." Sarah smirked._

 _Sarah turned to leave, and left the kitchen where she disappeared upstairs. Alex made her way to the doorway, where she was about to grab the keys, until Derek had emerged from the living room and had got to them before she did._

" _Hey, I need to make a run to the weapons locker, and I need help."_

" _I was just about to go get John a cake."_

" _Okay, so?" Derek shrugged. "Send the metal to go get it." He then suggested. "Come on!" Derek opened the door, before disappearing outside. Alex turned and walked over to her, before stopping right in front of her._

" _Hey, I need you to do this simple task for me, alright? Please don't fuck it up."_

" _What do you need?" She inquired._

" _It's John's birthday, and Sarah wanted me to get him a cake. But Derek needs help so I am going to go with him."_

" _Okay. I will get John a cake." She agreed and turned on her heels. She walked into the kitchen to retrieve her favorite handgun, and her second favorite, coat._

 _Before Alex had left the house, she heard Alex shout at the top of her lungs, "Oh, and Cameron! Make sure it's chocolate!"_

 _Cameron heeded Alex's advice, and threw on her jacket and made her way to the front door where she grabbed the Jeep's keys from the basket. She made her way outside, just in time to witness Alex and Derek take off in the SUV, as they headed north. Cameron stopped and observed them, until they disappeared, before cautiously crossing the street, where the the Jeep was parked._

 _Cameron opened the door and sat in the front seat, and put the key in the ignition. But she noticed something. No, someone walking away from the Jeep, looking back at her. As Cameron turned the ignition on, her whole world went black._

 **:VIDEO PLAYBACK COMPLETED**

 **:SELF DIAGNOSTICS COMPLETED**

 **:WARNING… LOWER EXTREMITIES HEAVILY DAMAGED**

 **:READ/WRITE MODE: DEACTIVATED**

 **:READ MODE: ACTIVATED**

Cameron's vision came back online, and she looked around. There wasn't much to see however. Her field of vision was disrupted by smoke. For some reason she couldn't move. As if no matter how hard she tried, her body didn't seem to register the inputs her chip gave off. But when she heard a single gunshot from nearby, towards the location of the house, she instantly reacted.

 _John!_

Cameron was finally able to move her head and arms, but when she tried moving her legs, she couldn't. She looked down and saw that her legs were pinned. She grabbed the center dashboard console and pushed it away from her with absolute ease. She then ripped off the door and threw it to the side.

When Cameron took the first step however, her HUD instantly flashed red, and she looked down at her legs. One was no longer fully operational, as it was damaged. Severed slightly from the connection joints. Only one could get her to that gunshot sound, so she kept going.

She was forced to stop once more when another warning flashed on her HUD. She reached behind her head and grabbed a large piece of shrapnel that had lodged itself in the back of her skull. She examined it before dropping it and continuing on.

Cameron made it to the front door, and walked inside, as it had not been closed. As she entered, she noticed a body lying on the ground.

 **:SCANNING…**

 **:IDENTIFICATION: CHLOE REESE**

 **:STATUS: DECEASED**

 **:SCANNING…**

 **:MISSION PRIORITY: NONE**

 _Oh no. John isn't going to be happy._

Cameron walked over the body and made her way into the living room. There, there was a man standing under the stairwell, right next to a bookshelf holding some thermite and kerosene, and the man was lighting a cigarette.

She snuck up to the man, and grabbed the back if his shirt collar, before bashing him against the shelf and knocking the kerosene and thermite to the ground. Cameron grabbed the man's gun and checked if it was loaded. She snapped her head up when she heard a loud thud come from upstairs, and instantly went to full predator mode.

As she left, she failed to notice the lit cigarette flame igniting the kerosene and thermite, that was located right next to a water heater.

As she stumbled up the stairs, she paid no attention to the orange bright shadow that began to cast below. She only had one priority right now. Investigate the source of that sound.

 _Please be okay, John! Please be okay!_

After each slow step she took, Cameron finally made it upstairs to her room. The room where the sounds of a struggled could be heard. She reached for the knob and turned it.

 ** _4 Minutes Ago:_**

As Sarah had reached for the door, she turned the knob. But instead, the door flung open, hitting Sarah in the nose, and forcing her to the ground.

A man had entered the house, and had his gun drawn on Sarah.

Chloe quickly reached for the weapon behind the waistband of her jeans, but she wasn't quick enough. The man had risen his firearm, and fired between her eyes. She fell to the ground, right next to John.

Everything almost seemed to slow down for John. Everything happened so quick he couldn't register it all. He looked down at his fallen cousin, who had just been shot and killed. He then looked back up and saw the man now training his gun back on his mother. She appeared to be dazed from being hit in the nose, as it was gushing with blood.

John looked back at his cousin, then back at his mother. Then back at his cousin again; then his mother. He repeated this over and over again as his heart rate had risen dramatically.

His fists clenched in anger as fire began to fill his eyes. One of his best friends was possibly dead. His cousin was definitely dead. What about his mother? Was she next? Where was Cameron when he needed her most?

In rage, John took one step forward, ready to assault the man who had killed Chloe, not even caring for the gun he had. It was stupid to go against him, but he didn't care. He was ready to see to it, that this man suffered. That this man regretted every single moment when he decided to pull that trigger on someone he cared about. He was going to kill-

 _*Click*_

John stopped in his tracks when he heard a gun click behind him, and slowly rose his arms in surrender.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, kiddo." The man behind him chuckled. The man then redirected his attention to the other man across the room. "Get the bitch up. It's time we have some fun with these two."

"Yes, Sarkissian." The man obeyed, and forced Sarah onto her feet.

 _Sarkissian!? I was right it seems._

The man pulled out some zip ties from his pocket and wrapped them around Sarah's wrists. John felt a similar sensation when Sarkissian had also bounded his wrists with zip ties.

Sarkissian, and his henchman, forced John and Sarah upstairs. There, they went through the closest open door that they came across and threw them into it. Instantly, John could tell that it was Alex, Cameron, and Chloe's room. The girly features on the walls surely made made that theory hold up.

 _Where are you Cameron!?_

"Leave me." Sarkissian ordered his henchman. "I have to teach these two a lesson."

"Yes, sir." The henchman nodded and left the room. Once alone, Sarkissian strolled up to Sarah and forced her on her back. "So… you're the little bitch who's been fucking up my whole operation, eh?" He sneered as he held Sarah's cheeks tightly. "Guess I'm gonna have to teach you a lesson on what happens to people who mess with me."

Sarkissian stood up, and immediately started to remove his belt.

John, who was sitting right behind them, was witnessing the entire thing unfold before him. This was the real Sarkissian. Not the one that Cameron had killed back in the alleyway. He was the real deal. And he was possibly planning on raping his mother.

That anger inside him boiled over yet again. First his cousin was killed. One of his best friends was possibly dead. And now, his mother was possibly going to be molested by some gangster?

 _No!_

John launched himself at Sarkissian, and tackled him to the ground. First, John began beating him with his still bound fists; landing blow after blow at his face. But that wasn't enough. Sarkissian punched John off of him, and immediately got on top of him, while grabbing a pocket knife from his pants pocket.

"You sneaky little fucker!" Sarkissian snarled as he wiped the blood from his nose. "I gotta say, you hit like a little girl."

Sarkissian rose the knife, prepared to thrust it into John's chest. But those plans went south when Sarah had recovered and kicked Sarkissian's arm, forcing the knife from his grasp, to land under one of the two beds. Sarah then placed her binds over Sarkissian's neck and pulled him off John.

The struggle led the two to finding themselves backed up against the wall, where Sarkissian began using his body to ram Sarah into it.

After a few hits against the wall, Sarah's binds gave away and they snapped, freeing Sarkissian. With him being able to breath again, Sarkissian elbowed Sarah in the stomach, and turned to strangle her.

With Sarah trying to recover from having her breath knocked out, she could not fight back, and her vision became blurry.

Then, unexpectedly, John had ran up behind Sarkissian, and ran the knife into his back, causing him to release his hold on Sarah.

John thrusted the knife again and again into his back, until Sarkissian fell to the ground.

"That's enough, John."

But John couldn't stop. He kept on repeatedly stabbing Sarkissian, as blood had sprayed over his face.

"John, that's enough!" Sarah snapped.

She grabbed John by the wrist, stopping him from taking another blow. She then grabbed his shoulders, and forced him to look at her.

She could see the blood on his face, and the blankness in his eyes. They were almost as cold as a terminator's stare. She took the knife from her son's grasp and cut him free, and dropped it. She engulfed John in a long hug.

Then the door opened.

The two jolted their heads and saw a familiar face. It was Cameron. They sighed in relief. Help was here. Although she looked awful at the moment. They would ask questions later, but now it was time to leave.

 _John! I was worried that you were harmed! Wait… why can't I speak?_

Cameron looked at the two and her program began to run analysis:

 **:SCANNING…**

 **:IDENTIFICATION**

 **:SUBJECT 1: SARAH CONNOR - NO MISSION PRIORITY**

 **:SCANNING…**

 **:SUBJECT 2: UNKNOWN SUBJECT: DECEASED - NO MISSION PRIORITY**

 **:SCANNING…**

 **:SUBJECT 3: JOHN CONNOR**

 **:SCANNING…**

 **:ANALYZING…**

 **:MISSION PRIORITY FOUND: TERMINATE**

 _Wait, What!? No, that's not my mission, why am I supposed to terminate him!?_

Cameron rose the gun, that she took off the dead henchman downstairs, and aimed at John. She tried so hard not to raise that weapon. No matter what output she gave, her commands wouldn't respond. One side of her remained loyal, and the other sought to do what it was designed for: Killing.

 _Run, John!_

John's eyes turned wide in both shock and disbelief. Cameron is trying to kill him? Why? He….he trusted her. Considered her to be his best friend. Now, she is betraying him? He knew he needed to move. But he couldn't.

Sarah was shocked too, to say the very least. The very machine who is programmed to protect John is trying to kill him now?

 _See John? I told you that she cannot be trusted._ She feared for her son but her fear soon turned into anger.

Sarah had immediately shielded John, ready to sacrifice her life for his. But the shot, that she expected, never came. Instead a loud explosion had erupted, yet again, and Cameron was sent plummeting down below, as her finger had squeezed the trigger and the bullet hit the ceiling.

The two thought it was over. Sarkissian was dead. But at what cost? Chloe was murdered. Alex. Possibly dead too. And now Cameron. Sarah was sure no one could have survived that fall, and that explosion, that just occurred. The two were wrong however, when a hand had instantly grabbed onto the edge. Sarah and John knew who's it was too.

Sarah got John up onto his feet, and the two made a beeline for the window behind them. John jumped through first, not caring for the pain; and Sarah jumped after. The two slid off of the roof, and onto the ground.

Meanwhile, Cameron was able to recover from the fall by grabbing onto the very edge of the now destroyed hallway floor, last second. She pulled herself up, and noticed that John and Sarah were gone. Cameron stood up, and limped up to the broken window, and looked outside where she saw Sarah and John disappear over the backyard fence.

Cameron began to place one foot out of the window and climbed through. She neared the edge of the roof and jumped down, where she continued to slowly follow John and Sarah.

 _What is happening!? Why do I keep pursuing them?_

 ** _3 Minutes Ago: (10 Blocks From Connor Safehouse)_**

Alex and Derek drove down the long stretch of road that led away from the residential area, and their home. Derek drove, while Alex sat in the passenger seat next to him. The ride for the most part was completely silent, as Alex took to just fiddling with her thumbs for entertainment. She and Derek did not get along that well. Ever since she "Accidently" kicked him into the ceiling, he seemed to hold a grudge. That and calling her "half metal," every time she looked at him or even spoke.

"So, what do we need to pick up from the weapons locker?" Alex inquired, trying to break the uncomfortable silence.

"More ammo for one." Derek explained simply. "With Sarkissian dead, I feel as if his little _gang_ isn't done with us yet."

"You're probably right." Alex agreed. She too had that feeling. Just because Sarkissian was dead, no one else would come for them. There would always be a threat. No matter how big, or little it was. But then, another question came to mind, and she turned to Derek. "Why did you want me to come along?"

"Excuse me?" Derek inquired.

"Why not take John, or Sarah, or Chloe, or even Cameron with you?" Alex clarified. "Instead, you choose me. Why?"

"One: Sarah, John, and my daughter aren't as strong as I'd like them to be, and two: _Cameron,_ I don't trust."

"And you trust me?" Alex rose her eyebrow in confusion.

"Do I have any reason not too?" Derek looked at Alex.

"You called me half metal a few weeks ago." Alex pointed out.

"Okay. I may have _overreacted_ then." Derek began explaining. "But after I thought about it a bit, I finally came to a conclusion."

"And that is?"

"Even if you are _metal_ you are also somewhat human. And by that you are half human if what you told me still holds true."

"So what? You're going to quit thinking of me as a machine now?" Alex asked in hopefulness.

"Hell no." Derek snickered, and Alex frowned. "I'm not going to forget what you are, but as long as your mind is still in the right place, then I can accept _that_."

"So you're going to accept me, but not Cameron?" Alex then asked.

"She's still a machine." Derek shook his head. "Deep down she is like the rest of them, and I don't know why none of you can see that."

It was silent once more, until Derek chuckled, breaking the silence once more.

" _Cameron_." He mused. "Who gave it that name anyway?"

"John did." Alex pointed out.

"Not this John though." Derek also pointed out.

Alex nodded in acknowledgement, and began staring out the side window, lost in thought, while mumbling to herself. "At least you don't have to live under the same roof as the same machine that killed people you loved."

"She killed someone you loved?" Derek asked, barley hearing what she had said.

 _There you go with saying things aloud again, dumbass!_ "Yeah... She did."

"What did she do?" Derek inquired curiously.

"Before she was reverted, she killed my brother and my…. Best friend." She muttered the last part to herself.

"Damn." Derek sighed. "I didn't know the metal took so much from you."

"I don't blame her anymore if you think I'm still holding a grudge or anything." Alex replied. "She was under Skynet's control so she couldn't have resisted. Even if she wanted to."

Derek didn't respond, and instead just took back to focusing on the road. Alex took his silence to stop conversing, and stared back at the side window. There, something caught her eye. Something that made the artificial hairs on her arms stand up on its ends.

"Derek!" Alex patted the soldier on the forearm.

"What?" Derek inquired as he looked at Alex. She pointed with her finger behind them. He looked up at his rear view mirror and saw what made his eyes widen. "Oh, shit!" He stomped on the breaks with his right foot, and the SUV came to a sudden screeching halt.

"Is that the?" Derek stammered as he looked at the smoke in distance, then at Alex, whom looked at him back.

"Drive!" Alex ordered. Derek didn't need to be told twice, and agreed. He turned the vehicle around, and sped back down the road.

•••

Derek and Alex had sped down their street in the SUV, as they hurried back to the safehouse as fast as they could. However, upon returning back to the house, they saw the smouldering Jeep, and the house almost completely engulfed in flames on the far north section. The SUV came to a halt, right outside the house; and Derek and Alex immediately exited the vehicle.

As they made their way to the house, Alex noticed the neighbors staring at the house with a loss for words.

But that was the last thing on her minds, right now. Right now, all they were concerned for, was Sarah, John, and Chloe. They were probably somewhere in that house, and they had to find them quick.

She also began wondering what she'd have to tell their nosy neighbors to get them off their backs. But one step at a time was the method right now. Later they could figure that part out.

What confused Derek and Alex however, was the fact that the front door was wide open. The house was almost completely, ablaze, and the Jeep was destroyed. Something took place here after their departure. Something they didn't know of yet.

By the looks of everything. It wasn't good.

 _What the hell happened here?_

As both Derek and Alex rushed through the front door, they were immediately greeted with a horrible sight that beheld them. The fire that had overtaken most of the living room. And right in front of them, closest to the door, lied a person: Chloe.

Derek's mouth dropped agape, and he ran to his daughter and fell to his knees. He grabbed his Chloe's head and frantically searched it, where he saw where the bullet hole resided, and the thousand yard gaze her eyes displayed.

His heart dropped, and his posture stiffened. Derek Reese couldn't describe the unsensationable pain he felt. He felt like his chest was being crushed. His heart felt like it someone had ripped it out and crushed it with their bare hands. Derek grabbed Chloe's body and held her in his arms, as he sobbed into her chest, not caring for the blood that began to cover him, for that was the least of his worries.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" He wailed in devastation. "Chloe…"

Alex took a step back and covered her mouth, speechless at what she should say. Or if she should say anything at all. "Derek, I am _so_ sorry." Alex sincerely apologized. She kneeled down next to Derek, and reassuringly placed wrapped her arms around his shoulder. She couldn't even begin to imagine what was going through his head.

Chloe; the girl who she had just went to get ice cream almost an hour prior. The one who she had gotten to know fairly well these last few months. One whom she had come to think of as a good friend.

Alex looked up, and saw the living room engulfed in flames, spreading closer and closer towards them. She first searched the kitchen, then she ran through the flames to see if there was a way upstairs. But currently the staircase was destroyed. If they were up there, they were definitely trapped.

But she also had to think for a moment. If Cameron and Sarah were anything like she believed them to be, then she was sure they would have gotten John out of here. Even if they were on the second story. She had to have faith that they were safe.

But even if _they_ were gone, she and Derek were still here. They wouldn't have much time to get out if they stayed any longer.

Alex's head jolted upon hearing the faint sound of sirens grow closer and closer. Most likely the fire department and police were on their way. The neighbors must-have instantly reported the fire when it became visible outside.

They had to leave if they wanted to avoid having to answer any questions and possibly being arrested. But she knew Derek was not in the state of mind to run right now. Not with what just happened to Chloe. She never had seen him like this before. Derek was always so gruff and hardened, like the typical future soldier. Not broken like he was now.

She needed to guide him right now.

Alex ran back through the flames and back to the hall where Derek am Chloe were, where she shook his shoulder, trying to gain his full attention. "Derek, we have to go, I'm sorry."

Derek ignored Alex, and instead continued to stare into Chloe's blank eyes, and blood trailing down her forehead. His eyes glassy and red, and his heart shattered into a million pieces. His daughter was actually gone.

"Derek! We need to leave!" Alex repeated in a much louder and stricter tone. She knew what he was feeling. That sense of loss for someone you care about. But as much as she could understand his grief on a personal level, there was no time for that. They had to leave now.

"I'm not leaving her!" Derek snapped.

"Don't worry… we're not." Alex assured in a soft understanding tone. She, like Derek, didn't want the police to get ahold of her body. Not someone who she has become too close with.

Alex got on the other side of Derek and began to pick Chloe up, but was beaten by Derek when he swept her in one single motion. Alex stepped away, knowing that he wanted to be the one to do this.

Derek stood up with Chloe in his arms, and Alex led the way out through the front door.

They did not care for the sight of the neighbors staring at them in shock. They knew they wouldn't see such people again. That was probably for the best, considering all of the destruction.

The two immediately made a beeline for the SUV, where Alex got in the driver's seat, and Derek in the back with Chloe's body.

Alex took one look at Derek and Chloe, and she wiped a stray tear from her cheek and started the car. They sped off, away from the neighborhood as fast as they could before any emergency personnel could arrive.

They needed to find John, Sarah, and Cameron, quickly. If Chloe didn't make it, then she was fearful of what could have happened to them. She hoped to some God, somewhere, that they were unharmed.

 ** _Meanwhile Across Los Angeles:_**

Agent Ellison sat up in pain. His shoulder ached badly, and his vision was fuzzy. It took him a minute, but when his vision returned, he looked around him. He was currently outside when everything had taken place inside the mansion.

The agent stood up and stumbled his way back inside, through the broken glass window he remembered flying into. Once inside, the sight he saw was horrifying. Beyond that in fact. Bodies littered everywhere, blood and bullet holes covered the once peach walls, and amongst it all, was the same woman whom he was sent here for. The female machine.

She was taking every piece of weaponry off of the dead officers, and stuffing them into a duffle bag. She was smart, he had to give her that. Taking weapons used in a firefight would make it harder for evidence collecting later, but that wouldn't stop the coming investigation.

When Ellison took one step forward, he accidentally stepped on a piece of glass that made a crunching sound.

Veronica immediately reacted to this and turned around, but with no weapon drawn. Instead, she just gazed at Ellison with… curiosity, perhaps?

The staring was almost as reminiscent to a lion staring at its prey before attacking. But was he going to be the prey? Was she just observing him before she put a bullet in him or break his neck? Maybe…

After a long moment, Veronica stopped staring at Ellison and continued to pick up the firearms and ammunition off of the fallen officers, before zipping close her duffle bag and making her way out the front door. Ellison watched cautiously as she got into a yellow sports car and drove away from the scene, as if nothing had happened.

Sarah Connor was right about one thing. They are merciless killers. They show nothing for their victims. All of the officers he let down, surely showed that those words held true.

He underestimated this machine and her abilities. And because of that mistake, innocent lives were taken.

Ellison walked closer to the door, where he looked behind the wall he had previously taken cover behind just minutes before. But what now lied behind it, was his fallen partner. Now riddled with bullets, he knew that Aldridge didn't survive the fight.

Ellison knelt down and closed Aldridge's eyes, and muttered an apology to himself. Did he blame himself for his death? Getting him all mixed up into this fight? One that they didn't even understand in the first place.

While Ellison was grieving for his fallen partner, the front door opened again, and Charlie Dixon ran inside with his medical bag in hand. What he walked into make him speechless. All of the dead bodies was almost too much for him to take.

Charlie looked at Ellison who in turn looked back at him, but shook his head in defeat. He had lost, and the machine had won.

•••

An hour went by and a majority of the Los Angeles police force, as well as the FBI, were already all over the scene. Ambulances were shipping the now deceased officers away, and police tape with forensics were already on the scene, investigating what had transpired here earlier.

But what could Ellison tell them? A machine caused all of this death? If he said anything remotely similar to what Sarah Connor had said, he'd surely be sent to the nut house. All for telling the truth.

Both Charlie and Ellison sat in the back of Charlie's ambulance, with Charlie treating the small cut on the top of Ellison's head. Ellison recoiled a bit when Charlie applied hydrogen peroxide to the wound, causing stinging.

"Sorry." Charlie apologized. He continued to treat the wound for another minute until he was finished and put his medical equipment back into his duffle bag. The two sat in silence, as they watched every responder work on the scene before them.

A woman wearing a dark blue jacket that said FBI on it, walked over to Ellison. "Agent Ellison, I have something you may want to take a look at."

Ellison and Charlie followed the woman back inside the mansion. All of the bodies were cleared, but one body bag was lying in the middle of the room, on a gurney. The woman unzipped the bag and the two were greeted with a horrible stench.

"Oh my God, I think I'm gonna be sick." Charlie muttered, trying to fight the urge to puke.

"Who is this?" Ellison asked curiously.

" _That_ is our dear old Arnold Jackson." The woman informed. "Forensics say he's been dead for about four weeks. Enough span of time when he supposedly went missing."

"So she did kill him." Ellison muttered. Aldridge was right about everything. And now because of his careless, he was dead.

"Wait, so you're saying that one little girl did all of this, plus kill this guy?" Charlie inquired.

"It depends Mr. Dixon. Do you think they are gonna believe a machine from the future did it? They gotta believe. This has to end here." Ellison zipped back up the body bag. "Sorry you gotta take the hit for it. It's not your fault. Just bad luck."

 ** _13 Blocks From Connor Safehouse:_**

A red minivan was seen speeding down the main road, trying to get away from something. From someone. Sarah was the one driving, and her son was sitting in the seat next to her. Everything had her on edge. Her whole body hurt like hell, and they were currently being chased by a rogue cyborg. Their rogue cyborg as a matter of fact. She just got done dealing with an angry mob boss, and now one of their own was trying to kill her son.

What she always feared of.

Sarah glanced at her son, and saw him staring off into space. It worried her greatly. He had just witnessed his cousin die right in front of him, he had killed someone for the first time, and now. Now his terminator protector was hunting him down. Probably to finish the job she failed to do back at the safehouse.

"You all right?" Sarah asked worryingly. But there was no response. He just continued to stare off. "John, are you all right?" Again, no response. This infuriated Sarah as everything had her all worked up, and her son being distant was something she definitely did not want to deal with. She used one free arm and took hold of his left shoulder and shook it frantically. "Would you answer me?!"

John instantly broke away from his thoughts and looked at his mother. He then looked out of the front view windshield and saw that Sarah had accidentally drove onto the other lane, and was speeding towards an oncoming car. "Mom!"

Sarah quickly looked and saw the car, and tried to turn. But when she immediately turned back onto the other lane, they came to four way, and had smashed into another oncoming vehicle.

Luckily the airbags had deployed, and Sarah was able to recover from the sudden impact. She been abused enough today and frankly, she was tired of it already.

"Can you move?" Sarah asked John. "Are you hurt?" She then looked at his forehead and saw a large gash across his forehead. "You're bleeding."

"I'm fine." John brushed off. "Are you all right?" He then asked.

"Just my shoulder." She responded. Sarah got out of the vehicle and rounded it to help her son out.

"Hey!" A man shouted in anger.

Sarah looked behind her and saw the owner of the vehicle they just collided with, stomping their way towards them. "We gotta go." She ordered.

John nodded and stepped out of the vehicle. But when he took one step, his left leg stung badly. He gasped in pain and held his leg. He looked down at it and noticed that it was bleeding from the knee, down.

Sarah noticed that her son was in pain. She was too. But right now if they stayed, they risked having the police on them, and Cameron possibly catching up to them. "Can you walk?"

"Yeah." John gritted his teeth in pain. "I think so."

As much as Sarah hated to force this on her son, they had no choice. "Good, 'cause we gotta run." She helped her son stand up, and she pushed him forward.

The two ran away from the scene, with the man, of the vehicle they just hit, chasing them down. "Hey! Come back here!" The man shouted. He gave up after running a few feet and stopped to catch his breath. "Dammit! This is the third time this has happened to me this month!"

 ** _36 Blocks From Connor Safehouse:_**

After leaving the mansion in Beverly Hills, Charlie took off in his ambulance and was driving back to the hospital where he'd wait for another emergency to respond to.

On the drive back though, he couldn't stop thinking about what happened at that mansion. What actually had happened. He may have not been there when it all occurred. But the truth is, he didn't need to be there. It all made sense after he was introduced to this hidden world. One that he chose to think of as ludicrous. Ellison once thought so, and so did he.

But now what? What did he think of it? Simple. They are very real, and they are very dangerous.

Sarah had told him of another female machine like Cameron. One that had been hunting them. She told him that this blonde machine looked exactly like the girl who was at their house when John had retrieved him to operate on Derek. He didn't understand why they looked similar so he just brushed it off as a killing machine thing. Something he had no understanding of.

The entire police force would surely be on the hunt for that terminator lookalike, and he was worried of they'd target the wrong girl for the murders of a dozen HRT's, and a millionaire.

Now he felt that he should warn Sarah about what occurred today. Especially for the sake of that young girl. She seemed sweet enough that she didn't deserve the blame for all of this. All because of some mindless machine doing unquestionable acts against humanity.

" _All fire and E.M.T. personnel advised to stand by. Fire has destroyed a home at 204 Laurel Avenue. Number of dead or injured is unknown."_

Charlie looked down at his CB radio with his eyes widened, and taken aback. That was the address where Sarah and John lived. The place where they called home for the last few weeks. Since he's known about them being alive at least.

John was like a son to him. He was the only kid he ever looked at, as his own. But what of Sarah? What was she to him now? An ex lover that he never really got over in the first place? He was in now in fact, married. But she was the one who ever truly made him happy.

He flipped on his sirens, and made and instant U-turn, where he sped down the opposite end of the road, with one destination in mind. He needed to reach John and Sarah quickly. They were could in danger, and he was worried about them, almost to death.

•••

When Charlie arrived at the house, he was shocked to find it smoked out. and partially burnt. Firefighters and police were already on the scene, investigating the cause of the fire.

Most firefighters were seen, exiting the house.

Charlie saw that there were two sheets sprawled out in the front lawn. That instantly had him worried. He rushed out of the ambulance and went under the yellow caution tape to see what and who was under those sheets. He lifted them and saw that they were two men. Both were burnt to a crisp.

Charlie stopped one of the exiting firefighters. "Hey, these the only two DOA?"

"That's it." The firefighter told Charlie.

"You check the whole house?" Charlie then asked. He could tell that the man was getting annoyed by his constant questions.

"House is clear." The firefighter assured before walking away, back to the fire engine.

Charlie placed the sheets back on top of the two deceased men and stood back up. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead in relief. John and Sarah were okay. They were nowhere to be seen, but they were okay at least. But what made of the other four? Alex, Cameron, Derek, and Chloe? Where were they at? Were they with them?

 _*Ring, ring, ring*_

Charlie looked down at his EMT windbreaker and pulled out his cell phone. He looked at the caller ID which displayed unknown as the name. An unknown recipient. Charlie answered the number and put it up to his ear. "Hello?"

" _Charlie. This is Alex. We need your help."_

"Oh my God, I thought you guys were dead or something!" Charlie sighed in relief. "Where are you at? Are you guys okay? Where's Sarah?"

" _I don't know where they are at… And not all of us are okay. Can you meet us at the old bowling alley on 23rd?"_

"Uhh, yeah. Sure. I'm on my way." Charlie nodded. He ended the call, and placed his phone back into his pocket. He was very confused now. Why did she say not all of them were okay? And why did her voice sound like she was very tired?

 ** _Downtown Los Angeles:_**

 _The identification of these two victims has not yet been released. And it is unclear how they are connected to this blaze or to the car explosion nearby-_

The television shut off, and the remote was put down.

A woman sat at a glass desk, with a large window overlooking Los Angeles. She had long red hair and wore a white business dress. The name Catherine Weaver was written on a plaque, that was hung on the wall next to a giant fish tank.

A very young woman with brown hair opened the door to the office, and peeked her head inside, and spoke. "Ms. Weaver, you have a visitor." She announced.

"Is it Mr. Walsh?" Weaver inquired.

Before the young woman could answer, another woman pushed past her, and bursted in through the door, which made Weaver tense up.

"Mr. Walsh couldn't make it." The woman boldly informed.

"Who are you?" Weaver demanded with a calm manner. She stood up in defense at the sudden entrance of this woman.

"My name is Keran Azadian. Me and Mr. Walsh work for… well let's say the same employer." She revealed with a extending her hand out for Weaver to shake. Weaver reluctantly did so and formally greeted the woman.

"Do you have it, then?" Weaver then asked, wanting to get straight to the point..

"I do." Keran reported. " _But do you have what I want_ , is the more important question."

"The three hundred thousand dollars, me and your employer agreed upon, will be transferred into the bank account, I was given, when I am certain that you have it." Weaver persisted.

"There are new terms in place, Ms. Weaver. The new price is seven hundred thousand."

Weaver frowned. "That's ludicrous if you think I am paying you that much money for such a little machine." She glared at Keran with intensity.

" _You_ , can take that up with my employer." Keran smirked. "I'm just the messenger."

Weaver rounded her desk where she stood within inches of Keran's face. "I can easily back out of the deal, Ms. Azadian. I have no actual information on the discussion of the price. Also, you should know that angering me is not wise."

Keran smirked again. "If you kill me, then who will give you the Turk?" She pointed out. "Now _that_ is not a _wise_ decision, Ms. Weaver. Even if I know what you are. What you really are."

"How can you possibly know?" Weaver stepped back in disbelief.

"You must take me for an idiot, don't you, Ms. Weaver?" Keran gave a heartfelt laugh. She started to walk around Weaver, meticulously studying her posture. "My employer has told me so much about you. You being a machine. You killing and taking the form of the real Catherine Weaver. Even why you seem to care for her daughter; which I have no idea, nor understand why you spared her life."

Weaver's gaze stared blankly at the window, as Keran continued to slowly walk around her. Frankly, she was starting to get annoyed by this woman's actions. Her boldness to harass her, and think she can get away with it.

"What do you want from me?" Weaver inquired stoically.

" _I_ don't want anything from you." Keran chuckled. "But my boss on the other hand. Now he _wants_ your money. Needs it, in fact."

Weaver didn't immediately respond. Instead, she glared at Keran for a long moment until she reluctantly came to a decision. "The Money will be deposited into the account within thirty minutes."

"Good." Keran smiled with satisfaction. "As soon as I'm gone, your precious little chess computer will be delivered. Just a little percussion measure that I don't get _murdered_ before I leave. You understand, right?"

Keran turned and made her way to the door. On her way out, she stopped and looked back at Weaver.

"Oh, and Ms. Weaver. Treat Savannah well. I'd hate to see something terrible happened to her." With that, Keran exited Weaver's office and rode the elevator back down to the main floor.

Weaver went back to her desk and sat in her chair. She was very frustrated with how that meeting went down. Usually she was the one to make people uncomfortable. But it seems that this woman was fearless. Almost as if she wasn't scared of what she was. She knew that her _employer_ was someone that you definitely do not want to mess with. She was forced to agree to their terms.

The same young woman who had informed her of Keran's arrival peeked her head into the office once again. "Ms. Weaver, you have a package here waiting for you."

"Thank you, Victoria. Deliver it at once." Weaver smiled at the young woman.

"Right away, Ms. Weaver." The young woman obediently agreed and left the office.

Once she was sure she was alone, Weaver pulled out a small box from under her desk and opened it. Inside was some sort of cylinder shaped object that had a rigid chip like component on the bottom. She took it out of the box, where the metallic parts glimmered from the sun, and she began speaking to it.

"Don't worry, John Henry. Soon you'll be whole again."

 ** _23rd Street: (Abandoned Bowling Alley)_**

This was the place that Alex gave him. Well it appeared to be the place anyway. It was a bowling alley, and it was abandoned after all. The street told him that it should be the right location too. Now he'd find out if it was the right location, or not. Charlie parked his ambulance across the street, and cautiously approached the old run down building.

It looked to be abandoned for some time. The sun that was low in the sky made the building look very erie in appearance.

Charlie approached what appeared to be the front and peered through the broken glass door, to see if anyone was inside. Sure enough, the door flung open, and a gun was instantly aimed at his forehead.

He rose his arms in surrender, and slowly backed away from the door. Alex emerged from the darkness, still having her gun trained on him.

"Did anyone follow you?" Alex inquired as she looked left and right. Charlie simply shook his head. "Okay," She lowered her gun and put it away. She turned and walked inside, in which Charlie followed and closed the door behind him. "Thanks for coming. Oh, and sorry for the whole gun thing. We've been on edge for the past few hours."

"What the hell is going on here?" Charlie inquired. "Where's Sarah and John?"

"Long gone if I know them well enough." Alex answered.

"Who was out there under those sheets, then?" Charlie asked.

Alex stopped and turned to face Charlie. "Look. I don't expect you to care much, but if you're _so_ interested, then I'll fill you in. We were doing a deal, and it went bad."

"How bad?" Charlie inquired curiously.

Alex didn't say anything, and instead led him to behind the SUV, that was parked at the far end of the building, in which half of the wall was torn down. That gave the vehicle easy access, and a place to hide in. There, he had a glimpse of Derek sitting in the hatchback of the vehicle, stroking Chloe's hair. Charlie was taken aback by this and rubbed his head speechless as to what to even say.

"What happened?!" Charlie frantically asked as he approached, and seeing the hole that was drilled into her forehead. It got to him even more at the fact he was seeing such a young and beautiful teenage girl ending up with such a cruel fate. Especially when he saw the way she and John got along.

"We don't know." Alex shrugged truthfully. "We were on our way to make a weapons drop, and we came back to…. Well... we found her like that."

"I'm guessing one of those dead guys probably did it?" Charlie pointed out. Derek looked up at Charlie, and glared at him. But he didn't speak a single word.

"We didn't see any bodies inside." Alex spoke instead. She knew Derek was not in the mood for any sarcasm right now. "But yeah. If they were _inside_ , then it is certainly possible."

Charlie looked back at Chloe. He felt horrible for the way she ended up. "If it's worth anything, Derek. I am sorry for your loss."

"Thanks." Derek muttered, not taking his eyes off of Chloe.

Alex grabbed Charlie, and guided him away from Derek, where they walked far away from the SUV. "What is it?"

"With how long I've known Derek, he seems too broken at this point." Alex began.

"If my daughter was murdered, I'd certainly be in the same boat he's in." Charlie opinionatedly stated. "I can understand his pain."

"I can too, but if I can't find Sarah and John alone." Alex mentioned. "I need help if I am going to even have a chance."

"And you want my help?" Charlie inquired confusingly. The last he ever expected was to get to he involved in all of this machine business.

"Yes." Alex nodded. "Are you in?"

"If it means making sure Sarah and John are safe, then yes. I'm in." Charlie answered.

"You realize that once you're in, there's probably no out, right?"

"We're still talking about just helping you find John and Sarah, right?" Charlie asked confused. "Not me like joining the team or anything?"

"Right." Alex agreed.

"Guys, you may wanna hear this!" Derek shouted back from the SUV. Both Charlie and Alex put aside their conversation for now, and made their way back to Derek. Right next to him, was a CB radio, that was broadcasting a signal in a woman's voice:

 _Units requested. Possible stolen vehicle involved in an accident. Two suspects fled scene. One teenage boy, and one dark haired female. Injuries unknown._

"That's gotta be John, and Sarah." Alex mentioned. If it was a stolen vehicle, and they ran away after a crash, then she was almost sure it was them. It had to be them.

"Where did you guys get a CB?" Charlie curiously asked.

"I don't know." Derek truthfully admitted. He then looked up at Alex. Charlie too looked at Alex, who laughed innocently.

"I may have…. Stolen it from a police cruiser nearby."

"Of course you did." Charlie shook his head. "You do know my ambulance has one, right?"

"Thank you for telling me over the phone!" Alex sarcastically remarked.

"You didn't mention that you needed one!" Charlie argued.

"Guys!" Derek snapped loudly. "Sarah and John are somewhere in the city, probably hurt right now, and you guys are just going to argue about a stupid radio?"

"Sorry." Both Charlie and Alex muttered. The posture they displayed was reminiscent to that of a child who got caught doing something wrong.

"Don't tell _me_ that." Derek sternly pointed out. "Tell that to John and Sarah. They could be anywhere right now, and bickering won't help us."

"Alright." Alex spoke. "Let's get going. We're losing daylight."

Derek set down his daughter, and covered her with a sheet. Both he and Alex made their way to the front of the SUV and opened the door.

"Guys. Not to hate on your ride, or anything, but we can get around faster in the ambulance." Charlie suggested.

"You're probably right." Alex agreed. "Can you bring it around? We can't leave Chloe, or risk anyone seeing her." She then asked.

"Sure thing." Charlie smiled. He left the two, and left the building to retrieve the ambulance from across the street. That left Alex and Derek alone.

Derek walked over to Alex and whispered to her. "You think it's wise to have him with us?"

"I know you don't like him too much, but what choice do we have?"

"Just leave him, and go find them ourselves." Derek suggested.

"No, I need his help." Alex argued. "You're not in the right state of mind right now."

"I'm fine, Alex-"

"No _you're_ not, Derek." Alex persisted. "You just lost your daughter. You're grieving. At least this way we can give you time to grieve and maybe think of a place where we can…. You know... Bury her."

Derek fought the urge to sniffle and looked at Alex with a determined demeanor. "I appreciate it, Alex, but I'll grieve when I know John and Sarah are safe. I know it's what Chloe would've wanted."

The two watched as Charlie had rounded the building, and entered inside. "At least think of somewhere where we can put her to rest, then. Alright?" Alex asked.

"Alright." Derek sadly agreed. He walked back over to the SUV and grabbed Chloe's body, just as Charlie backed up. They knew they'd have to leave the car here. For now at least.

The two hopped inside through the back doors, where Charlie put the emergency vehicle into gear and drove away out from, and away from the old bowling alley.

 ** _Meanwhile Across Los Angeles:_**

Both Sarah and John were sitting in the kitchen, of a small church, that they had came across. They had entered and asked the priest for shelter, in which he agreed. Now, they were hiding, hoping that Cameron wouldn't immediately find them.

But deep down Sarah knew that it was only a matter of time before she caught up with them. Then they'd have to keep running, again and again. Forced to hide from an almost unstoppable force. One that took the appearance of a teenage girl and former friend.

Oh how much did Sarah wish it could have been another _T-800_ chasing them, or another liquid metal one. But instead they were being chased by a petite, beautiful girl, who looked like she could barely lift a gallon of milk. It was sort of pathetic when she really thought about it. But appearances didn't change the fact that this girl was actually a killing machine. One that could kill so easily and not feel a pang of guilt for it. No remorse. Nothing.

The only person who was remotely even capable of stopping her was Alex. But she was God knows where. Maybe she was really dead in that Jeep explosion. Maybe she went the lazy route and had Cameron go get John his birthday cake. That seemed like the most likely scenario, but that still didn't change the fact that she wasn't here to protect them. Correction. To protect John.

Her life was meaningless if John was to die. Humanity was meaningless if he was to die.

Sarah looked turned off the radio that was currently on, and looked at her son. Ever since arriving, he had not spoken a word. She was very concerned. "Are you alright?"

"You already asked me that." John replied irritably.

"Yeah, well I'm asking you again." Sarah insensitivity remarked. She was tired of the way John was acting. Especially with the current situation they were in.

"I'm fine." John settled for saying.

"I think _we_ need to talk about what happened…. back at the house."

"No, _I_ don't." John argued.

"Maybe I need to talk about it, then." Sarah sneered irritably.

"Maybe _you_ do, but I don't, so let's not." John stopped his mother. "Please."

Sarah took a deep breath. She knew he didn't want to talk about his cousin. Not now at least. But Cameron, they definitely needed to talk about. "If you don't want to talk about Chloe, then we need to talk about _her_." She referred to Cameron. "Whatever happened with the explosion, it's flipped a switch. She's reverted or something."

"She knows everything." John muttered.

"I know-"

"Bank accounts, contingency plans, weapon stashes."

"I know-"

"How we run, where we'll go. Who we've been, who we'll be." John then mentioned. "She's... Stronger and faster."

"We have to kill her, John!" She spoke loudly.

"I know!" John snapped.

In anger he didn't notice that he had grabbed a knife and stabbed it into a nearby cutting board. He backed away and looked at his mother, who in turn was looking back at him in shock.

"I know..." John then muttered quietly. He turned and left the kitchen and locked himself in the bathroom. Sarah was about to follow, but she knew he needed space. But who knows how much time they'd have before Cameron caught up with them.

•••

A few minutes went by, and meanwhile outside, Cameron was following a blood trail that John had left behind. She had meticulously followed each and every small splatter, every small hair that he had left, and followed it until she came across another. It sure was a slow process, but it was in fact, effective.

Now, after tracking her target almost halfway across Los Angeles, she came to a stop in her search. Right in front of some Church. Cameron tilted her head, and looked at the ground. There she found more blood that led inside the Church.

Cameron opened the door, and walked inside. Once inside, she walked into the main nave. Each seat in the aisles were empty. So far they were nowhere to be seen.

Cameron limped further up the aisles and closer to the pulpit. She continued to slowly make her way closer, until the Church's pastor walked in, and looked at Cameron with confusion.

"Yes?" The priest inquired. "May I help you?"

Cameron turned around and studied the man. "I'm looking for my family."

 _Don't listen to her, she's lying! She only wants to harm them!_

"Family?" The priest asked confusingly.

"My mother and my brother." Cameron lied. "We were in an accident. I think they're hurt."

 _Wise of you to use the family card._

"There is no one here." The priest explained. "Service ended hours ago."

"I need to find them. It's life or death." Cameron persisted.

 _For them, that is! If they're here, don't say anything!_

"Like I said, there is no one here." The priest argued back, calmly. Cameron studied him again, and noticed that his pulse was elevated. He was showing extreme signs of nervousness. He was lying.

"I'm going to look around." Cameron stubbornly replied. She turned around and continued to limp her way to the pulpit again. "It's life or death."

Cameron curiously limped towards a cauldron that contained Holy water, when she noticed that under it, was a sunken towel. And underneath it, was more droplets of blood. They were here. Somewhere. She tilted her head to the side, curious as to what the towel was doing under water, so she stuck her hand in it. She removed the towel and what she saw confused her greatly.

An alarm clock was underneath it? Cameron tilted her head again in confusion once again. But at that moment, the clock struck seven o'clock, and a surge of electricity had sent her flying back.

Both Sarah and John emerged from hiding and rushed over to Cameron's inactive body. "Hurry, we only have two minutes!" Sarah mentioned. John nodded and began cutting a circle around her scalp, where the chip was located. Luckily he was able to remember the location, after their little Vick problem a week back.

"What are you doing?!"

Sarah turned her head and saw Father Bonilla standing just in front of them, looking at them with horror written on his face. She looked back at John cutting into Cameron's head, and noticed how bad it must've looked. You don't normally see people cutting randomly into people's heads.

"Stay away, please. I told you to go away." The priest reluctantly obeyed and left the room, but looked back once more before disappearing. "Hurry, John, we only have seventy seconds!"

"Crap! The knife isn't sharp enough!" John muttered under pressure. He remembered that only a certain type of screw driver was able to cut left the port seal. Well it probably wouldn't work with a philips head anyway. Only a thin enough flat head would be able to get underneath the seal and pop it open. The knife was his best bet right now.

"Well, push harder!" Sarah ordered.

"How much time?" John asked.

Sarah sighed and looked at her watch. "fifty-five."

While breathing heavily, John managed to left the seal only just barley. Enough to see what was underneath. "Oh, wait, I see it, I see it! Screwdriver!"

Then suddenly, Cameron's eyes shot open. Sarah looked down, and fear took over her. She couldn't believe it. They should still have more time. She still had several seconds till she rebooted. Sarah pushed John away, and immediately got on top of Cameron, trying to hold her arms down.

She knew that she was no match for Cameron. But she had to buy some time for her son. "John, you have to go!"

"Mom, I can't leave you!" John denied. He wasn't sure what he'd do without his mother. Especially when she was the only one protecting him at the moment.

"Now, John!" Sarah snapped, with no room for arguments. Her son still displayed that reluctance. "Go!" She repeated in a much louder tone.

John hesitantly turned and sprinted out the building, just as Cameron had got the upper hand and threw Sarah off her. Cameron stood up and began limping her way out, until Sarah had ran up to her and smashed against her back, a music sheet stand from the choir section.

Cameron turned around and grabbed the podium from Sarah, and used the end of it to smash it on the side of her head. Sarah was knocked to the side, where she fell to the ground and went unconscious.

With Sarah out of the question, Cameron thossed the podium to the side, and turned back around, where she would continue to pursue John once more.

•••

John ran, like he always did. That was all he knew how to do. He knew he didn't stand a chance against Cameron. Not even his mother was able to hold her off for long. He just hoped Cameron didn't do anything terrible to her. How could he live with himself if he found out that his _best friend_ had killed his mother? How would he deal with that?

John ran five blocks, and was now in some warehouse district. About all there was in the area, were warehouses. Some new; and some, old. He wasn't sure which he was in, but given the old dusty trucks that were littered in every square inch of the building, he guessed it was old. Hopefully it was a good place to hide.

He ran inside through the industrial flap doors, and ran to one of the nearby trucks. He tried opening one, but it was no use. It was locked.

He ran to another one and tried opened it again, but with the same outcome. It was locked. What made it even worse, was the fact that his right arm hurt badly, so he couldn't put that much pressure into opening one of these outdated trucks.

As he approached his third truck, John stopped when he heard the flap doors, whoosh open. Someone had walked through, and he had a pretty good assumption of who it was. He stayed quiet for a long moment, doing his best to hear the footsteps and determine her location.

He kept doing this until he heard her boots slowly fade to the far left corner of the building, where most of the warehouses crates, and boxes were kept.

Now was the time to check the truck, and to see if it was locked. He reached for the handle and pressed the button. But this one was too locked. He started wondering if any of these trucks were left unlocked for him. Right now, his life depended on it.

John quietly shuffled behind the truck, and started to make his way to the next, while taking every percussion to not give away his location to Cameron.

When he approached the next vehicle, he looked behind him first, to hear for more footsteps. Sure enough, she was still across the warehouse. John reached for the handle on this one, and took a heavy breath, before pressing the button.

To his complete surprise, it opened.

He sighed in relief and opened the squeaking door, and got inside.

But his mistake was closing the door too hard, which would have surely alerted Cameron of his presence. He kicked himself mentally, and instantly hid underneath the dashboard console.

Right now, he needed to formulate a plan. This vehicle seemed newer than the others. Maybe it would start? Maybe he could use it to put some distance between him and Cameron? Perhaps. But first he needed to get it started. At least he hoped it would start.

John did the first thing he knew. The one trend he remembered teaching a specific terminator a few years back. He checked the sun visor for a key. He did feel pretty stupid however when there was nothing there. No key. Nothing. The only thing that was in the sun visor, were envelopes, and rubber bands.

"Dammit!" He berated himself. Now what was he supposed to do? He knew he couldn't hide in here forever. With Cameron now checking each vehicle, he knew it was only a matter of time before she came across this one. He needed a plan. "Think, Connor. Think!"

John looked down at the discarded papers and other bits of trash underneath the glove box, and saw something that caught his eye. A red handle. John shuffled the papers out of the way, and the red handle revealed itself to be a flat head screwdriver. He picked it up and relished in its cold feeling. It was the first sense of hope he's had the whole day.

John took the screwdriver and tore the plastic paneling under the steering wheel, and began to do the next thing he knew. One thing that his mother had taught him. He was glad that now it was coming to use. John began to use the screwdriver to strip and cut the wires from the ignition. After that, he began to take the green wire and red wire; and began to connect them, trying to get the truck to turn on.

So far, it was only making noise. Enough noise for Cameron to hear.

Meanwhile, across the warehouse, Cameron was searching the trucks for John. So far she didn't find him. He was in one of them, and she knew it.

Cameron stopped what she was doing when she heard the sounds of a truck trying to start up. She grabbed a wrench from the truck she was already searching, and closed it. She limped her way out into the open and panned the whole area, trying to pinpoint the source of that sound.

Cameron kept following the sound, until she came up to a truck that was sputtering. Instantly she knew that this was the one John was in. She just wasn't sure where he was in the cab.

She waited patiently for him to pop his head out, so she could use the wrench she found, as a weapon.

 _Please don't be in there, John! Please! I can't do anything about it! You have to run until I can figure out how to restart myself!_

After a short moment, the truck started, and John popped his head out from under the the dashboard, only to see Cameron standing there. Waiting for him. He instantly became terrified.

Cameron tried with all of her might to stop herself from acting out against John. But like before, she wasn't able to fight it. Her arm extended back, and she threw the wrench with such great precision, she was surprised that John was able to dodge it as it came crashing through the window.

 ** _10 Minutes Earlier:_**

As the Ambulance drove down the street, Charlie was driving and Alex was in the passenger seat. They had been driving for almost an hour already and it was starting to get dark out. They wouldn't have much time to find John and Sarah. They'd have to wait till tomorrow to look for them.

Alex looked behind her, to see Derek still staring down at his daughter, as he sat on the one of seats, and Chloe on the gurney. The sight of Chloe and Derek made reminded her on how much of a terrible day it's been so far. Just earlier today, she was at work. Helping teenagers with injuries and illnesses. Earlier today, she woke up in the same room as Chloe. Fought for who got to use the shower first, with Chloe. But now…. Now she was gone. There was nothing that she could do to bring her back.

"It's getting late," Charlie informed Alex. She turned her attention away from Derek and Chloe, and looked at the man. "We might have to call it a night."

"No. We keep looking," she pressed. "They're out there somewhere, and _we_ will find them." Who knows, one of them may be hurt. Or worse.

"I want to find Sarah and John as much as you do, Alex. But we can't be searching in the dark. The police will surely get suspicious-"

"Charlie, shut up, okay? Just shut up." Alex halted. "We are going to keep looking for them. Whether you like it or not."

"Okay." He reluctantly accepted. "I'm sorry-"

Charlie was forced to immediately stomp on the breaks when someone had crossed his path, and the vehicle came to a screeching halt. The sudden stop almost made the ambulance skid into a nearby traffic light.

"Dammit, Charlie! Watch where you're driving!" Alex snapped at the man in frustration.

"Hey, that wasn't me that did that!" Charlie explained bitterly. He felt as if Alex was just finding any reason to attack him. "Someone ran right out in front of me."

Alex acknowledged Charlie and looked behind her to check on Derek and Chloe. Chloe almost rolled off the gurney, but Derek was luckily able to stabilize her. "You alright?"

"Yeah." Derek sighed heavily. He sat back down, making sure that Chloe would stay put. "Thanks for asking."

"Alex..." Charlie then desperately shook her left shoulder.

"What the hell do you want, Charlie!?" She remarked as she turned to face Charlie and followed what he was looking at. Her eyes widened in disbelief, and her jaw dropped. "Cameron?"

"You see the metal?" Derek inquired, and he stood up to look out the front windshield.

"Yeah, but I don't see John. Or Sarah." Alex answered. She got out of the vehicle, and looked at Cameron as she limped down the street. _Why is she limping?_

"You go and see where she is getting to." Charlie ordered Alex. "Me and Derek are going to check that Church she just came from."

Alex nodded and began to sprint her way down the street, in pursuit of Cameron. She followed the young cyborg as she had limped down five blocks and had made a beeline for an old warehouse. Alex was definitely confused as to why she had entered this warehouse. What was her intention?

She peeked through the flaps of the warehouse entrance, and saw that she was standing in front of a sputtering truck that was trying to turn on. When John appeared from the cab, she instantly knew what was going on. It hit her like a semi truck.

 _She is trying to kill John. This isn't good._

She then remembered something. A small request from future John just right before time jumping into the past.

 _Remember. If the timeline ends up being the same, then you have to remember something. Cameron will be involved in a car bomb, and she will revert back and she will try to kill me. That is what messed this whole timeline up the first time, Alex. You have to make sure she doesn't do this, or all is lost._

"Son of a bitch!" Alex cursed under her breath. "How could I forget that!? Future John put way too much trust in me." Alex started pacing around, outside of the warehouse, trying to figure out a plan.

Alex knew she had to do something. But what exactly? This machine had become part of the family. But now betrayed them, and is now trying to kill John. The past repeats itself, it seems.

"Okay, okay. So I have to stop Cameron. Easy peasy, but how?" She looked down at herself. Even though her breasts seemed to get in the way, she was glad to be reminded of what she is. "Right. I'm a killing machine just like her. Although, a truck would be nice to use instead…" Alex stopped talking to herself when she heard the truck start, and glass shattering.

She had to act quick.

"Oh, fuck it! Guess I'm the only other one that hasn't had a good fight in a long while!"

With a decision made, Alex bolted inside the warehouse, just in time to witness Cameron crawl up the truck that John was in. Alex quickly ran up to Cameron, grabbing her leg, and pulling her off of the truck. She fell onto the ground, and Alex pinned her down.

John had to say he was surprised and relieved. Alex was alive and looking better than he at this point.

"Okay, quick question. Are you looney right now?" Alex curiously inquired. Her response was Cameron punching her in the nose, forcing Alex to stumble off her.

"Dammit!" Alex grabbed her nose in pain, and her eyes became watery. It was definitely bleeding. "Why do you always go for the fucking nose!?"

Cameron ignored Alex and grabbed her by the shirt. Alex deflected Cameron's attempt at throwing her, and smacked it away. Cameron then used her foot to try and kick her in the face. Again, Alex dodged the attack, and swept Cameron's feet out from under her. She then grabbed Cameron by the shirt, and tossed her across the warehouse, and into one of the storing shelves on the other side.

Alex looked and saw John still in the truck. "What the hell are you still doing here!? Run!" She barked at John with annoyance. John didn't need to be told twice, and got out of the truck.

In satisfaction, Alex turned her attention back at Cameron, whom had already gotten back onto her feet, and began prowling towards her. As Alex came up to Cameron, she failed to notice that right as Cameron got up, she had ripped off one of the steel bars from the shelves, and had it hidden behind her back.

Once Alex was close enough, she unsheathed it and stabbed her through the stomach.

Feeling the almost intolerable pain, Alex looked down at the and saw the steel rod that was embedded in her stomach, and fell to her knees. Cameron had backed away and observed Alex curiously.

"You bitch…. You actually stabbed me." Alex's rolled shut, and she fell to the ground, as a blotch of blood began to form around the wound.

John just watched in horror, as he watched Alex fall. He didn't know what to make of it. Was she really dead? Did he just witness another one of his friends die? For the longest time today, he thought she was dead. Now it was plausible to assume she was definitely dead.

But he had other issues to worry about to right now. Like for example, Cameron was currently heading straight for him. "Cameron, please, you don't want to do this." John tried reasoning as he slowly started to back up.

"I am supposed terminate you." Cameron stated in a blank expression, as she crept closer to John.

"No you don't. Cameron, you're better than this! Fight it!"

Cameron ignored John's plea and limped closer to him, and used her backhand to make John go flying back. He flew a great distance and landed on a pile of crates. It took him a moment, but he was able to recover and got up off of them. He looked back at Cameron who was still making her way towards him.

"Cameron… y-you have to listen to me! I know you can fight this! This isn't you!"

Cameron grabbed John by the shirt and launched him up into the air, where he landed on top of the truck's hood, wincing at the sudden pain in his back.

"Please Cameron! I know you're better than this!"

Again. He was ignored. She just stalked her way up to him with murder in her eyes. At this point he felt as if she was just toying with him before killing him.

"Cameron, please! This isn't you!"

Cameron seemed to freeze in place for a long moment. Her whole body unmoving. John looked down at her, and noticed that she was still as a statue.

Cameron's head jolted when she heard tires screeching, and saw as a large truck had sped down the warehouse, towards her. She saw that it was Alex in the cab of the speeding vehicle. She began to climb the truck, in an attempt to get away from the speeding truck. But it was too late, as the vehicle smashed against the other, pinning Cameron between them.

John took this chance and pulled the screwdriver from his coat pocket, deciding to finish the job. He unfolded the skin flap on Cameron's head, revealing her metal endoskeleton underneath, and located the port seal.

"John. John? You can't do this. You don't know what you're about to do." Cameron pleaded with all of her might.

"Yes, I do." John sneered. "You were gonna kill me."

"No, John. You can't do this. You're not doing the right thing. This is not the right thing, John." Cameron begged. John looked at her in confusion. Just a minute ago he was the one pleading for her. But now it seemed almost as if she was imitating him.

"Things are good now. Things are fine now. I ran a test. Things are good now. I'm fixed now. You can trust me now. Everything's good now."

"What the hell are you waiting for?!" Alex snapped.

"She doesn't know, she doesn't. I'm good now. I'm good, I ran a test. Everything's perfect. I'm perfect. John! I'm sorry for what I did. I'm sorry. It wasn't me. You have to understand. It wasn't me. That wasn't me." After much force being applied, John was able to get the port seal off, revealing her chip. But as John reached for it, something seemed to make the hairs on his neck stand on end. Cameron's voice became…. Fearful?

"You can't let this happen, John. You can't! Please, listen to me. Listen to me. I don't want to go. Please, John, please. John, listen to me. I don't want to go. Please, John. Please. I'm good now. Listen to me. I don't want to go. I'm sorry. That wasn't me. I'm fixed now. I ran a test. Everything's perfect. You can trust me."

"John!" barked Alex. She could see his hesitancy. His reluctance to shut her off. But that became the least surprising thing she heard from Cameron, when she heard what she had to say next. It was almost enough to bring chills down her spine.

"I love you! I love you, please. I love you, John, and you love me."

John almost dropped his screwdriver, upon hearing those words. That voice. She sounded scared. As if she knew that she would die. But that wasn't what made him stop. It was what she said. She… she loves him?

 _How is that possible, she's just a machine?_

It was a lie, it had to be. But why did it feel like it was the truth? Like it was something she had had buried deep within her. But his gut told him otherwise.

Ever since he was a just an infant, he was taught by his mother. Machines can't feel. They feel no pity, remorse or fear. They wouldn't not stop at all until you were dead. It was just a cheap imitation of emotions. Like how she did at school. John felt like he had no choice. His life depended on whether he could trust her or not.

Alex just watched as he froze. Almost as if he had Just given up. "John! What the hell are you doing!?" She knew what he was thinking. She heard it too. What Cameron had screamed. What she had said. He didn't know what to do. "Think about what you're doing, John!"

"Please don't do this, John. Please-" Cameron's final plea was cut short, when John had yanked out her chip, and her whole body shut down. John looked at the chip and sighed in disappointment. For some odd reason he felt as if she was telling the truth. But at the same time, it didn't.

Alex shut off the truck, and she stepped out. She immediately made her way to John, and looked up at him as he trailed off while looking at the chip. His face displayed guilt and sadness.

"John…" She called to him. He broke from his thoughts and looked down at Alex, who spoke again. "Do you love her?"

John looked back down at the chip for a long moment. He grasped it tightly, and looked back at Alex. "I know it was a lie."

"That's not what I was asking." Alex sternly corrected. "Do you love her?"

"I…" John trailed off again and gazed at Cameron's inactive body.

"I don't know… I really don't know."

•••

Hours went by, and it was already dark outside. After the whole incident, Alex had retrieved Derek and Charlie, whom had found Sarah unconscious back at the Church. Now they all were gathered in the same warehouse where it all took place.

Charlie was currently treating the wounds that Alex had sustained after the fight with Cameron. That included the steel rod that Cameron had literally almost impaled her with. Luckily playing dead worked out, and she did get that truck she wanted before deciding against a face to face confrontation.

Derek was kneeling down next to a crate, inspecting Cameron's lifeless body. He knew that John had the chip and showed no signs of giving it up. After what Alex explained, he would under no circumstances, give it up.

Derek stood up and made his way to where Charlie and Alex were sitting at; as well as Sarah whom had barely woke up from her unconscious state.

"We should get going soon. You guys cut a pretty serious path of destruction across the city."

"Wasn't us." Sarah mumbled as she held an ice pack on the side of her head.

"So… you're a machine too?" Charlie asked. After seeing the wound, he had his suspicions on how she seemed more or less fine with the fact that a piece of steel had went through her like butter.

"Yeah, sort of." Alex replied. "It's a long story though."

"Ahh. Another long story." Charlie nodded in acceptance. After placing the final bandage around Alex's waist he smiled at his handiwork. "There you go. All stitched up again."

"Thanks." Alex smiled. She grabbed her already bloody tank top and pulled it back down so it was covering her bandage.

"So, I'm guessing that the hard drive is destroyed." Derek then asked Sarah.

"We didn't have time to get it after the fire started." She answered sadly.

"And I'm also guessing that Sarkissian didn't tell you where he sold the Turk before you killed him." Derek then pointed out.

Sarah looked at John who was sitting on a crate a few feet from them. "It wasn't that kind of conversation."

"Did he see it all?" Derek inquired after seeing the gaze she gave John.

"He saw it all." Sarah acknowledged.

"Damn." Derek shook his head. Now he felt bad for John. Nobody should have to see what he did. Especially at that age. But he knew not everything would turn out for the best. Life wasn't that simple.

"I'm sorry about what happened to Chloe." Sarah then apologized when she looked at the body that was still in the gurney behind them. "It was my fault. I should have kept a better eye on her."

"It's not your fault, Sarah." Derek shook his head in disagreement. "I don't blame anyone for it. Only myself." A small sniffle came from him as he looked away.

As the two continued to talk, Alex stumbled away from the van, and made her way to John, where she took a seat next to him. She didn't speak at first and the two sat quietly, staring at nothing, really. Just enjoying the quietness they all finally had.

"So Charlie told me the Terminatrix killed about twelve FBI guys today."

"Yeah… he told me that too." Alex mentioned as she fidgeted her thumbs together.

"She's still out there. She's here for me. They're dead because of me."

"John, you know that isn't true." Alex disagreed. "They're dead because some people can't accept the truth."

"Which is what?" John inquired.

"They carry death with _them_." Alex answered.

John took one look at Cameron lying on the crates. "She is different."

"John, I know you want to-"

"Want to what, Alex?" John exclaimed. "Want to think she is different when you think otherwise? I made _her_. I sent _her_ back. _She_ is different!"

"Look what she did, John." Alex pointed at her wound and the bandages that were covering most of his body. " _She_ did this. _She_ almost killed you. _She_ is dangerous."

"She's your friend. How can you say something like that!?"

"How can I say that!?" Alex scoffed in frustration, and anger building up inside her. "She's killed people _I loved_ , John. People I cared about- gone! Taken from me just like that! I've tried to tolerate her existence, I really have. Even when she tried to kill you the first time, you were there to convince me that she was _too_ special to kill- that she was different from the others. But here's a news flash, John. She is like the others! One screwy wire and she turns against us just like she did today. She is not my friend, and she sure as hell never will be."

Alex managed to catch herself before she unleashed her anger out on John. He didn't deserve it, she knew that. She needed a different approach to the situation. Bickering and shouting wasn't going to help at all. Especially with what he's been through.

"When you sent us back, you asked me something. You asked me…. You asked me to look after Cameron. _Be like the big sister_ , as you said. Teach her, guide her in the right direction. You wanted me to help her protect _you_ , and help _her_ grow to protect _you_ without my help." Alex explained with a chuckle.

While Alex spoke to him, he continued to look at Cameron, with a tear threatening to fall.

She joined John's gaze, and looked at Cameron's body. She knew what he wanted to do. "I know you want to fix her. I know you want to try. But I can't let you, John. I just…. I just can't. She's done too much to hurt _us_. To hurt you."

"So burn her…" John suggested with venom in his voice.

"John-"

Before Alex had a chance to interject, John had already cut her off. "Let's get the hell out of here." He stood up and stomped away, back to the ambulance, leaving Alex sitting there, feeling awful.

 ** _Unknown Location: (Abandoned Car Lot)_**

After a few hours of driving, Charlie had driven them all to an abandoned car lot. Full of crashed out vehicles. It seemed like the perfect spot. On the way, they stopped at the weapons locker and grabbed a few cans of thermite to finish the job. Now, Cameron's body lied within one of the wreckages, while Derek and Alex had spreaded thermite all over her body.

"You know, I saw her do this with the last one." Charlie mentioned. He could easily remember that time where Cameron had almost made him wet himself. Although he wouldn't tell anyone else that he almost did.

But other than that, the same method was used. Put thermite all over her body so it would melt. But he did remember one thing however. Cameron said something about the skin getting in the way of the process, hence why she had removed that other machine's skin before setting the fire.

"The only way to be sure. Especially this one. John, chip."

John looked up and saw his uncle's hand reaching out, awaiting for the chip to be in his hand. John stopped cleaning it walked forward. But instead of handing it over, he opened the door of the vehicle, and sat right next to her. Derek and Alex respectfully backed away, knowing that John probably didn't want them touching it. Not since the last time when Derek had it, and threatened to destroy it on the spot. It still didn't make sense considering they were burning it anyway, but he decided to at least give him that.

John placed the chip in Cameron's hands, and started rubbing her hand. Putting his feelings aside, John looked up at his family. "The flare. Where is it?"

"Sarah?" Charlie inquired. He didn't know whether or not it was a good idea to give it to John.

"Yeah." Sarah gave the go ahead.

Charlie took the single flare from his bag, and handed it to John, in which he took. John grabbed the top of the flare, prepared to light it, but when he looked back down at Cameron, he froze again. He just stared back at her peaceful face. She looked like she was sleeping without a care in the world. Although her face showed signs of damage, she still looked beautiful. Like the sleeping beauty from the fairy tales, waiting for her prince to wake her up. He just couldn't bring himself to do it. He wouldn't kill her. He refused.

Those best moments he had with her resurfaced. When he first met her, she gave off such a beautiful smile. One that he could still sometimes see when he closed his eyes.

He could remember the first time she told him that she was different. Even going as far as eating a potato chip to prove that to him. The times when he had shared his ice cream with her, a few weeks back when they attended Cherie's party. Small interactions made him realize that she was more than just some machine. She was different. But he would never be able to prove that to his mother, or uncle. Even Alex would probably dismiss it.

He looked back up at his family, knowing that they'd never understand or even forgive him. But under no circumstances would he ever kill _her_. It will be like stabbing his own heart with a knife.

"I'm sorry." In one quick fluid motion, John dropped the flare, took Cameron's chip, and inserted it into the port seal, before grabbing a handgun and taking aim at his family.

Derek was the first to react to this, and tried to get to Cameron before she rebooted. "John- John! Don't do this!"

"John, don't do this!" Alex also said. She too tired to get to Cameron so she could take the chip.

But they were both halted when Sarah had jumped in front of them, and pushed them back. "Back off!" She exclaimed before turning to face her son. "John, she'll kill you."

"There's only one way to find out." John simply said with a blank tone.

"John, you know I can take that gun from you. Don't do this." Alex angrily gritted her teeth. She was starting to regret trusting John so easily after their small conversation back at the warehouse.

She also noticed that the gun he was holding, was hers, when she felt for her weapon behind her jeans and felt that it was not there.

 _That makes so much sense._

But alas, he made his choice. He chose her over his family. Now John was aiming his gun at them, implying that he was willing to shoot anyone who will try to stop him. Even his own mother.

Whirring was all that was heard when everyone went silent, waiting for Cameron to awaken. Her eyes slowly opened, and she sat up, and looked at everyone before turning her attention to John who had the gun aimed right at her. "Are you here to kill me, John?"

"Are you here to kill me?" John redirected the question back to her. He had to force himself not to show any signs of nervousness. But he knew that she was aware of his nervousness. That was one of her unique quirks. Reading people.

Cameron took a long moment before responding. "No."

"Promise." John asked the young cyborg. He did the unimaginable when he handed her the gun, and everyone else looked at the two of them with absolute horror. They didn't know what she was going to do. They were sure that John's stupidity was going to be his downfall.

Cameron looked at the gun that was placed in her hands, and slowly rose it towards John:

 **:SCANNING…**

 **:IDENTIFICATION**

 **:SCANNING…**

 **:IDENTIFICATION FOUND: JOHN CONNOR**

 **:SCANNING…**

 **:ANALYZING…**

 **:MISSION PRIORITY FOUND: TERMINATE**

 **:MISSION PRIORITY OVERRIDE:**

 **:NEW MISSION PRIORITY ACQUIRED: PROTECT**

Cameron handed back the gun to John. "Promise."

John took accepted the weapon, and reached his hand out for her to take. She didn't need any help in getting out of the vehicle, but she glad accepted the gesture and took his hand into hers. They remained that way until John had closed the door, and lit the flare. He dropped it inside and watched through the flames as his family looked at him in judgment. They way they looked at him as if _he_ was the monster.

 ** _2 Hours Later:_**

After the dump, they all drove back to the Church. Charlie had dropped most of them off, and took Alex and Derek to retrieve the SUV and so that they could scavenge any items that may have survived the fire. Sarah had talked to the priest about what happened with Cameron.

He was very accepting with the convincing lie she gave him, to say the least.

The hardest part however, was convincing him to have him give Chloe a proper burial. He insisted on going to the police at first, so Sarah was forced to tell another lie. She didn't want her niece to be buried in some random hole out in the forest. She had the feeling that's what Derek didn't want neither. But she knew he'd never ask of that.

Now, Sarah was in the kitchen, making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for everyone. She finished just in time, as both Alex and Derek came walking in, with Derek holding a black trash bag.

"Got what we could. Some smoke and water damage, but at least you don't have to start completely over." He informed as he set the bag down, and took a seat in one of the chairs.

"It wouldn't be the first time." Sarah forced a smile. "Thanks."

"There's one too many. Charley took off. He said to say bye." Derek said as he held one of the sandwiches.

"I actually made it for you." Sarah replied. "I thought that maybe you'd be hungry enough for two."

"I'm not exactly hungry right now, but thanks." Derek sadly smiled and took a bite into the first one.

"I talked to Father Bonilla about arranging a burial for Chloe. He said he'd do it for a reasonable price. Two hundred dollars." Sarah then told Derek.

"Thanks Sarah. I appreciate it." Derek muttered dispiritedly, and continued on with his meal. He picked up the extra sandwich and tossed it onto the plate that the stack came from. He wasn't as hungry as he normally was.

Not to Sarah's surprise, Alex took the sandwich and put it on her plate. She shook her head and chuckled before taking a plate and glass of milk with her, out of the kitchen and into the nave. When she entered, she saw the machine sitting in one of the chairs, in the front.

That was probably one thing she regretted doing tonight. Leaving her and John in here alone. He could have been killed and she wouldn't have know till after. She no longer trusted Cameron. Not after the stunt she pulled earlier.

Especially when she didn't see John anywhere in the room.

"Have you seen John?" She asked.

"I think he's using the shower." Cameron replied while staring up at something. Sarah followed her gaze, and noticed she was looking up at a display of Jesus being crucified. Sarah quickly dismissed is as her just acting like her weird old self, and turned to leave. "Do you believe in the resurrection?"

Upon hearing what Cameron said, Sarah turned back around and saw the cyborg looking at her with curiosity. But considering her mind was already drifting off into something else, she paid no attention to what she asked. "What?"

"The story of Jesus Christ. The resurrection. Do you believe in it?" Cameron clarified.

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Would you, if you'd seen what I've seen?"

Cameron took a second and looked back up at the cross, then back at Sarah. "Faith isn't part of my programming."

"Yeah?" She mused. "Guess it's not a part of mine either." Sarah turned to leave, but Cameron stopped her once more.

"Don't let him do that again. If I ever go bad again... Don't let him bring me back."

"Noted." Sarah acknowledged and left the room. On the way, Alex bumped into her going the opposite way, and took a seat next to Cameron. She didn't say anything at first, and just looked up at the same cross that Cameron was staring at.

She almost rolled her eyes at the sight of a machine thinking about God, and the Bible. Especially when they were man's creations, and not his. Not that she believed any of it, anyway.

"I'm sorry for stabbing you, earlier."

Alex looked at her quite surprised. Cameron never was the one to apologize for anything. She usually just quickly let the problem go and move on to something else.

"Can I ask you a question?" Alex asked, trying to change the subject. Cameron nodded. "I know John is going to ask you the same thing, so I want to get it out of you first."

"What do you mean?" Cameron tilted her head in confusion.

"I heard what you said to him, when you were between those trucks. Did you mean it?"

"I don't understand the questio-"

Alex responded by back handing Cameron in the face, causing her to flinch. "You're pathetic, you know that?" She sneered infuriatingly. "Do you even realized what the _fuck_ has happened today? Do you honestly even give a shit?"

Cameron didn't answer Alex's question, and she looked away. Alex immediately put Cameron into her place and grabbed her chin, locking her head to look into her eyes.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!" Alex yelled into her face, and Cameron looked at her with eyes widened. "Now answer the question. What you said to John between those trucks. Were. They. True?"

Cameron innocently looked at Alex and shook her head. "No."

"That's what I thought." Alex remarked in somewhat satisfaction. She knew it was a lie to begin with. But John. He might not have thought the same thing. Because of that lie, John would probably actually consider it being the truth. "Do you realize what you've done just by saying that?" She then asked.

"No." Cameron admitted.

"You've lied to him. You made him think that you cared about him."

"I do care-"

"You saying that just put our whole goddamn mission in jeopardy." Alex explained in a simple manner. "John warned us about this. He didn't want it to happen again. But what do you do? You do the same thing as the other you did, and tell him that you love him."

Alex didn't say another word, and Cameron did not respond to it. She just let those words sink in.

"Just do me a favor, will you?" Alex requested. "Don't break his heart like the other you did. Because I already know what you are gonna say to him." Her voice sounded like it was on the verge of breaking, and Cameron could immediately tell that tears had began to well up in her eyes, threatening to fall at the slightest sign of movement. "After Chloe… and you…. He doesn't deserve any more pain than he already has to live with."

"I won't promise anything. Not anymore." Cameron replied stoically.

Alex stood up and slapped her again. "Future John was wrong about you. You're not special."

With that, Alex stormed out of the room, and back to the kitchen, leaving Cameron to herself. The mark that Alex inflicted still red, and her mind broken. She looked up at the cross with Jesus and spoke.

"I know lying is a sin…. But I don't know what to say." She expected no answer. She only wanted something in her mind to come to light. An answer that lingered somewhere in her chip. That was all she wanted. But why speak to him? She was a machine; and he, the son of God. He did not help those whom his father had not created.

 ** _Crystal Peak, June 8, 2027: (Resistance Base)_**

In the midst of the corridor, closest to the elevator, Alex Mathews cradled the lifeless body of Allison Young. Upon returning, Allison was met with Resistance gunfire when she had shot at them. But to Alex that wasn't the case. Her best friend now lied in her arms, riddled with bullets. With all of the shock taking hold, she was in distraught. She cared very little for her actions that landed her in this state.

"Why the hell did you shoot?" Alex exclaimed angrily at the three soldiers. The soldiers just coward in woe. They knew that they had made a mistake, and know that they had just killed a little girl. But what were they supposed to do? Let Allison kill them all? Without waiting for a response, Alex cradled Allison's body in her arms and began to sob loudly.

"Allison!" John's voice was heard from the far end of the hall. He kept screaming her name, until he had arrived to where Alex and the other Resistance soldiers resided at, near the elevator. "A-Allie?" His voice broke as he just looked at Alex gazing back at him with a her eyes red, and the little girl that he had raised, in her arms.

John stood there in absolute shock. He didn't move, nor did he blink. Words couldn't describe what he was feeling. All hope drained. When he saw her on the monitors, she was just simply riding the elevator down. She had finally returned from the wastelands of the post Judgement Day world.

But he knew the truth.

"Alex, get away from her!" John barked. Alex looked at John in complete confusion and surprise. He was really barking at her to get away from Allie? To her, he seemed to have finally lost it.

"Now!"

Alex was forced to reluctantly obey, and she set Allison down next her before standing up. But before she fully got onto her feet, Alex felt her plasma rifle gun belt tighten, then loosen. She looked down and saw that Allison was in fact alive, and she had taken her plasma rifle from her.

Before Alex could process another single thought, Allison had punched her in the nose, and pressed the trigger of the rifle, causing a ball of superheated plasma to hit her shoulder and she was sent flying into the wall behind her. She went unconscious from the impact.

Allison stood up and aimed at the remaining soldiers and fired the rifle with so quick that all soldiers were dead within the blink of an eye.

Watching as those few seconds fly by, seeing his best friend getting shot, his fellow soldiers getting gunned down, had made John's world slow down to a halt, it seemed.

Allison now had the plasma rifle aimed at him. But she didn't shoot. She just froze in place.

"What the hell are you waiting for!?" John snarled. "Shoot me!" But she didn't heed his order. His plea. She just looked at him with a blank stare. He couldn't understand this. He knew that this wasn't Allison. It was a machine that looked like her. One that displayed her very likeness, down to the small birthmark on her left eyebrow. She was perfect in every way.

But there was one flaw. It wasn't her.

John stepped closer and reached into his pocket for his taser.

This attempt was countered when the Allison lookalike had aimed at him, daring him not to take another step. "John, don't."

John followed the order and took one step back, with his hands raised, and he put the taser back into its previous location. _What the hell? Why isn't she doing anything?_

"Why won't you kill me?" John asked with intriguement.

The machine looked down at her gun, then back at John. "Because I'm trying hard not to…"

"You're trying?" John inquired in amazement. "How?"

"Because I want answers." The machine replied. "I think I am human…." She looked back down at her hand. "But I know what I am really."

"You think you're human?" John asked. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know, John." The machine truthfully admitted. "I'm scared. I have these memories, these experiences I feel are mine. But they are only fragments. Everytime I think, it displays itself as data being pulled from a file." She looked down at her hand and started moving her fingers. "Everytime I move my fingers, my mind reads it off as inputs instructing it to move."

John couldn't believe what he was hearing. A machine that believed itself to be human. Skynet has really done it. At least something remotely similar to what he thought. This machine had his daughters memories. He had to he sure however "What is your name?"

"My name given, says I am Allison Young. I am your adoptive daughter." The machine explained. "But at the same time, my only given name, displays that I am a TOK-715 infiltrator unit."

John continued to look at this machine in astonishment. But he had another question. "So if you think you're Allison, do you feel any emotions when you look at me?"

"Yes." The machine nodded in acknowledgement. "When I look at you I feel love, comfort, closeness, and…. And Betrayal." Before John could register another thought, the machine lashed out and approached him where she grabbed him by the throat. "You betrayed me!"

"I… I don't know what... you're talking about." John struggled to say.

"Liar!" The machine snarled. "I found documents at your other base! I found what you had planned! You wanted her to die so I would be created!"

"It… it isn't like that…. Allie."

"You betrayed the only daughter you had!" The machine continued. "She loved you! I loved you!"

"Allie…. Please…" John pleaded, as his face became purple. The machine hesitantly complied and let go of his neck, and John fell to the ground where he gasped for air.

The machine broke into tears. "Why did you do this to me, John? Why make me live like this? As a piece of scrap?"

"I wasn't aware of what Skynet intended to do with the _you_ part." John explained between breaths. "I thought they'd just copy your appearance. Your face, so that you'd get close to me. I didn't know, Allie. I swear"

"I trusted you, John. I loved you."

"Allie, I-"

"Just save it, John. Please. You've hurt me enough." The machine interrupted in a disappointed tone. "When you found me all those years ago… was your plan all along, to have me become a machine?"

"No. That was never my intention." John shook his head in disagreement. "When I found you, I saw a little girl who needed help. I took care of you… I loved you as if you were my own."

"You only took care of me because you saw me as her!" The machine sneered, while angrily pointing at her face. "You saw me as someone you knew before! Not the person I was!"

"That isn't true, Allie." John disagreed.

"Really? Then what is!?"

"Look, I am a special kind of fucked up, Allie! Ever since I was a child, I have been running! This position I'm in right now, is what I was taught to become! Years of bloodshed has made me become blind! This timeline- this hell we live in, was not supposed to happen! I have to make things right, I have to change everything! And if that means sacrificing the ones I love. Then so be it."

In shock the machine took a step back and aimed the plasma rifle at John again. "You're a monster."

"Good guys won't win this war, Allie." John took one step closer to the machine, until the barrel of the plasma rifle was touching his chest. He could feel the warmth from the weapon touching his skin, through his layers of coats. "You think it's easy for me? Do you think that it is just that simple for me to send someone I care about to their death?"

"I should kill you." The machine quavered. "I want to kill you."

"Then what's stopping you?" John replied with coldness.

The machine's eyes became glossy and soon, tears poured out from them, and she lowered the plasma rifle from John's chest.

"You." She stammered. Her eyes frantically looking at the ground, away from John. "I can't do what I am supposed to do. I can't do what you want me to do."

Then the unexpected happened. The machine wrapped her arms around John's waist. John expected to be crushed by her, but instead he found it to be a hug. Why? After all he revealed, she still seemed to find something in him. But what exactly?

"I can't live like this." The machine sobbed into his chest. "Please make it stop."

"What do you want me to do?" John inquired, trying to fight any tears.

She looked up at him. "Reprogram me like the others. Reset my mind so I don't remember anything."

John was taken aback by this. "Y-you want me to kill you?"

"You already did." She shook her head. "Please do it. Put Allison to rest. I can't live with this burden, this life. I'm not her, I'm just some…. Just some machine that's mimicking her. I know that much."

"Allie… I…" John pleaded. "There has to be some other way."

"There isn't." The machine cried. "I watched myself die in _fear_ , protecting you, by my own hands. I shed my own blood. Even when you betrayed her, she still had faith in you! Please just let her die. Please."

As the machine begged, John wrapped his arms around her, and held her tight. Regret overcame him, as he held what appeared to be his daughter in his arms. Even with what he had just said to her, he didn't want to do what she requested. He couldn't bring himself to do it. But what was he supposed to do? She wanted this. She didn't want to live a life full of burden of being a sentient killing machine. Something that was nothing but a ploy to kill him. Nothing but a copy.

John pulled the taser from his pocket, and held it next to the machines head, where he put his finger on the trigger. "I love you..."

"I love you too-"

Before she could say anything further, an electrical shock was sent coursing through her metal endoskull and she fell to the ground.

John took those seconds to use his boot knife to cut around her scalp, and pull out her chip before she had rebooted.

But now, he looked down at the tiny metal and plastic object with sorrow. His heart feeling like it was torn from him. He now knew from the machine herself, that the real Allison was dead. Killed by _her_. He merely just talked with a copy of his daughter. His real daughter probably never even knew of his betrayal.

But that was the plan, right? He needed the machine version of her for all of this to work. That's what made it all harder for him. Letting the one person he truly cared for, die by the very things he swore he'd protect her from. She died thinking that he was a hero, a savior to mankind.

But deep down, he knew it wasn't true.

•••

 **Author's Note: This chapter (to me at least) was an emotional rollercoaster. Chloe's death was probably the hardest thing for me to write so far in this story, and I feel that this is only just the beginning. We'll have to see where this alternate timeline takes our beloved characters and we'll see who their threats are in the future.**

 **I know that this chapter was more so similar to the season one finale, and I must apologize for that, if you were expecting something completely different. But I assure you that from this point on, my story will take a different path than the show. We will finally see everyone's relationships being tested while they are forced together to defeat odds that they don't understand.**

 **So thank you to those who've stayed, and I really hope you enjoy the future of this story!**

 **I have to give a lot of credit to The1Russter, for even though he didn't help write this chapter, he definitely influenced me through one of his Tscc stories, titled** ** _"The Locket."_** **It's an amazing read, so I recommend you go check it out, and even find where my inspiration came from. Guess you get some free exposure the1Russter, so good work!**

 **Then I definitely have to give credit to ActionfreakXD, who has provided his contribution to the story. I couldn't have done it without his help. Otherwise this story would lack some emotion, motivation; and a bunch of errors, and incomplete paragraphs. So good job man, and thank you for the help!**

 **Please be sure to leave a review! They help my motivation a lot and even influence each chapter in some way! :)**


	18. Chapter 18

**Terminator: No Fate But What We Make**

 **Chapter 18**

The room was dark. All she could see were the sparks that were strewn all over the place, as the structure had shaken violently. In front of her, a crater was her main focal point. Steaming fresh as a cast iron skillet that had been left on the stove for far too long. A fresh circle of fire that surrounded it.

But there was nothing besides that. Inside the crater, it was empty. All except for an unmoving body that laid not too far from it.

The room had flashing blue lights, but no alarm. They were silent. Computer monitors were broken, the concrete floor had cracks in it, and blood was everywhere.

All she could do was sit and watch. Her light blue eyes, now red. Dried tears that marked her face, used as a reminder of what she had lost. All she could do was hold her arm as it bled, as she sat staring at that crater. It was pain. She had nothing. They were gone, and all she was left with was a bloody arm to remember where she had failed. Her mission had failed.

All she could do was repeat one thing in her head, over, and over again. She asked herself one question.

 _Could I have changed it?_

 _ **8 Months Earlier - Los Angeles, California, December 4, 2007: (Club Venus)**_

Across the street from a club, a truck sat parked on the side of the road. They were looking at a building across the street that displayed a lavish neon sign. Both Sarah Connor, and Alex Mathews were in the back seat, dressing up in their infiltration disguises, while Derek Reese was in the front driver's seat, scoping out the club with binoculars.

As much as he wanted to get a slight peepshow of the two women struggling to get dressed in the backseat, he knew that he needed to focus on the mission. Years of being drilled by commanding officers had taught him self control.

"Have I mentioned that I really hate wearing such tight dresses?" Alex mentioned nonchalantly.

"Can it, Tin Head! We need to blend in." Sarah quipped in annoyance.

"Yeah, I know that, but why is mine shorter than yours!?" Alex exclaimed in Jealousy.

"Maybe it's because you don't have to hide any scars?" Sarah pointed out.

"Scars? My legs are as white as cream cheese!" Alex argued.

Sarah rolled her eyes. Alex was beginning to get on her nerves. "Just be glad I decided to bring you along at all!"

Right when Sarah thought her complaining was over with, Alex spoke again. "I'm so glad I decided to wear underwear."

"Will you guys shut up!?" Both Alex and Sarah looked forward to see Derek Reese looking at them with anger and annoyance clearly written on his face. "I didn't drive you both out here so I could hear you talk about your legs and possibly missing underwear!"

"Sorry." The two apologized in unison.

"Never mind that. Let's just get back to the mission." Derek redirected the subject. The two nodded in agreement, and gave Derek their full undivided attention. "Okay, so the names on the wall mentioned a Hector Fonseca. Most specifically that he has a link to this club."

"Yeah we know that already." Alex mentioned.

Derek decided to ignore Alex's smart quip, and continued explaining. "Anyway, as I was saying. You two are to find this Fonseca guy, and see if you can wean any information off of him."

"Oh, so now I see the reason for these dresses!" Alex acknowledged. "So we are going to seduce him?"

"Do whatever is necessary for you to complete the mission." Derek shrugged. "I'm a phone call away if you need help."

With all that said, both Sarah and Alex pile out of the SUV, and make their way to the club. Alex was immediately surprised to find that the bouncer had let them in, despite the line that seemed to almost extend a few blocks North of Pico Boulevard.

 _These dresses are really useful,_ Sarah thought.

Upon entering, Alex looked on, in amazement at the sight that beheld her. Sure, it was very dark and the only source of light either came from the dimly lit bar, on the far end, or the flashing lights on the dance floor, that would be sure to give some people epilepsy. Alex was lost in the people dancing on the dance floor, and the other crowds of people sitting and socializing.

"Wow!" Was all that Alex could mutter. "This place is amazing!"

"Yeah, well you kind of think otherwise, when you almost get murdered by a terminator here!" Sarah thought otherwise as she shouted through the loud music. It was almost as if the music sounded way ahead of its time.

"Wow, this place must be very extreme!" Alex loudly acknowledged.

"Not really, it used to be called Tech Noir! The music was garbage, if I'm being completely honest." Sarah explained. Those memories of that day resurfaced in her. That day when everything changed for her. Her life was turned upside down when she learned about machines and this whole future war. How that man: Kyle Reese, who told her everything, would become the father of his future General. Her son. "Anyway, we need to focus back on the mission!"

"Agreed!"

"Okay, so I think we should split up! Maybe that way we seem more approachable!" Sarah suggested.

"Yeah! That sounds good!" Alex agreed. As the two made their way onto the main floor, Alex and Sarah split up, and maneuvered their way through the crowds of people.

Sarah made her way through the crowd, where she made her way through to the bar and took a seat. She struggled sitting in an comfortable position, as her dress felt very tight, which restricted her from sitting properly.

"Scotch please!" Sarah waved down the bartender. The bartender poured Sarah a small shot glass of Scotch and slid it over to her, in which she downed in one go, not even wincing at the burning sensation it gave her throat.

"I like a lady that can hold her liquor."

Sarah turned her head and saw an attractive middle aged man sit right next to her, with with a smile on his face.

"I mean it's only one shot. It's not like anything _too_ much." Sarah chuckled.

"Ah, I see." The man smiled, and he held out his hand. "Name is Hector."

"Sarah." She returned the gesture, and gave the man a firm shake. The two stared out at the dance floor, watching as young people danced and socialized together.

"So, Sarah." Hector spoke up, gaining her attention. "What is a beautiful woman, such as yourself, doing in a place like this?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Sarah teased.

"Well I own the place, of course." Hector informed casually. "I have to be here to monitor what goes on here." Sarah nodded in acceptance, and ordered another drink, before downing it in one go. "Hey, Ricardo!" He then called the bartender. "Her drinks are on the house!" The bartender nodded and went back to work.

"So. What's your story?" Sarah then asked.

"Not much to say." Hector shrugged. "Family was from Mexico, and we eventually moved here to L.A."

"I actually spent a lot of time in Mexico and South America a few years back." Sarah acknowledged. "Sometimes I feel more at home there, than here."

"Ahh." Hector chuckled. "The American dream sometimes seems like an illusion, no?"

"Agreed." Sarah smiled, and rose her shot glass, before downing it.

"So... You married?" Hector then asked.

Sarah mentally rolled her eyes. Her target was probably trying to get into her pants. "Divorced actually." It was a lie of course, but she needed to keep his interest on her, until Alex could make her way over, so they could act. For now, she had to _"seduce him,"_ as Alex said. Although she had no skill in that department.

"So you're here to what, exactly?" Hector inquired curiously.

Sarah noticed that so far he was definitely interested in her. "I'm here, looking to get my mind off of this whole divorce thing." Sarah chuckled. "What about you?" She then curiously asked.

"Never found the right one," Hector simply explained. "This business takes most of my time, so I never put myself out there."

Sarah snickered. "Maybe, we were meant to meet?"

"I don't believe in fate, but you may just have a point, Sarah." Hector agreed.

As the two continued to converse, Alex had spotted and walked over to Sarah, mumbling something under her breath. By the looks of her, Sarah could tell that she wasn't in the happiest mood.

"We really should hurry up!" Alex exclaimed. "Some jerk grabbed my ass, and I think I broke his wrist!"

Both Hector and Sarah glared at Alex in a weird way.

"Uhh..." Hector nudged Sarah in the arm. "You didn't tell me you had a friend."

"Hector, this is Alex…" Sarah introduced. "She is my daught- Work friend."

Hector greeted Alex by shaking her hand, in which he unexpectedly kissed her hand. "Hello, Alex. Nice to meet you."

"Uhh… hello?" Alex greeted unsure, as she looked at Sarah with a confused look that said _"help me."_ Sarah just shrugged and took another shot.

"There you are, you little bitch!" A voice suddenly snarled from behind Alex. Everyone looked behind her, as an angry college student walked up to her, while holding his wrist.

Hector was the first to step up, and pushed the college student away from her. "I'm gonna have to ask you to leave." He asked politely.

"Yeah?" The kid mused. "What are you gonna do about it, grandpa?"

Hector looked up and smiled. "Oh, I won't do anything, but he might." He pointed. The student turned his head, and saw one of the large bouncers standing with an intimidating posture. "Please leave before I have Victor escort you."

"Whatever," The college student scoffed. "This club sucks ass, anyway." The kid turned and stomped towards the exit, with the bouncer following him, making sure that he left. Hector sat back down; and Alex and Sarah looked at him with amazement.

"Wow." Sarah clapped in captivation. "You handled that pretty well."

"It's nothing, really." Hector waved off. "Fifteen years of running this place, and you tend to learn how to deal with whiny college kids."

Alex's eyes widened and she pointed at Hector, before bursting out into laughter. "Sarah, you didn't tell me that you found the target!"

Hector frowned and looked at both Sarah and Alex, before standing up, and walking away. Before he left, he turned to face the two again, while adjusting his tie. "So, you're who I was warned about. I'm sorry, Sarah, but it seems as if fate wasn't meant to be after all." With that, he turned and strolled away, just as six large men had surrounded the two.

"Good job, Tin Head!" Sarah angrily gritted her teeth.

Alex giggled and turned to face Sarah. "Hey, at least we didn't forget our weapons, right?"

"We forgot them."

"Dammit…" Alex sighed. She looked at the large bouncers and walked up to them. "Hey, boys…. You wouldn't hurt two innocent girls would you?" They all responded by pulling out 9mm handguns from their holsters.

"Oh… so is that a no?" Alex innocently inquired. Sadly she already knew the answer, when the men aimed their firearms at the two.

In a split second, Alex jumped in front of Sarah, just as the men started firing off their weapons, and the two went flying over the bar counter.

Right when shots started being fired, the music immediately stopped, and everyone began to flee in terror.

Meanwhile, back over the counter, Sarah tried peeking over to get a better look at their new problem, but was immediately met with gunfire. They were surrounded, and they were only closing in. She also noticed that Alex was still lying on the floor, in front of her, playing dead for some odd reason. She only stopped this, when Sarah gave her a stern kick to the side, and she jolted into sitting position. She looked down at her bullet ridden chest. "Damn! Look at this dress!"

"You just made it worse!" Sarah snarled.

"It wasn't my fault!" Alex argued back. "It was either you, or the dress!"

Sarah slapped the back of Alex's head in frustration. "I'm not talking about the dress, you idiot! I'm talking about the situation we are currently in!"

"Oh."

Before they could process anything else, one of the large men rounded the counter and took aim at them. Alex was about to cover Sarah once again, prepared to take more bullets for the eldest Connor if necessary.

But then, a shotgun blast had impacted the man's chest and he fell to the ground dead, while also dropping the 9mm handgun right in front of Sarah.

Both of them turned their heads to see the bartender cowardly holding a shotgun, in shock at what he had just done.

"Ricardo, I love you!" Alex squealed in delight. "Do you mind if I borrow that?" Ricardo didn't show any reluctance, and threw the weapon over to Alex, in which she easily caught. "Oh, and do you think you can play something to really spice this whole thing up?"

Ricardo looked at Alex as if she were crazy, but agreed nonetheless, and pulled out an old radio from under the counter, where he started finding a music CD.

"Wait. How did you know his name was Ricardo?" Sarah curiously inquired.

"I'm not sure…." Alex shrugged. Truthfully, she wasn't sure either. "He just looks like a Ricardo, I guess."

Sarah just nodded in acceptance, and checked to see how many rounds were in her handgun. Once satisfied, she cocked the gun back, and got ready. The radio then started playing: _"Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting, by Elton John."_

"Oh, my God… I love this song!" Alex cheered in overjoyment.

Sarah ignored Alex's strange quirky nature, and peeked her head out from the counter, where she saw that all of the bouncers had overturned some tables, and were awaiting them.

She emerged from behind the counter, and started firing off a few rounds before having to evade the oncoming bullets, and went back to cover.

Alex then emerged from cover, after Sarah, and started firing off her newly acquired shotgun at the men, which certainly caught them by surprise. She was definitely glad to find out that the shotgun was strong enough to destroy the fragile, wooden tables, with ease. Some men immediately went down, while the others noticed this and ran elsewhere to cover.

So far, Alex and Sarah were definitely glad to have the upper hand. Their position provided them cover from all angles, as well as the wooden, and metal counter being a perfect bullet sponge.

Alex mainly stood above the counter, continuing to shoot the attackers, while occasionally taking a few bullets every now and then. It did sting, but she just shrugged it off, knowing that she's had worse. Like Cameron impaling her with IKEA furniture worse.

Alex rushed out of her thoughts when her weapon clicked empty, and the last shotgun shell ejected from the chamber. She decided that it was best to go back into cover.

"I'm out." She announced.

"Same here." Sarah replied as tossed the empty clip to the side.

"Hey, Ricardo! Do you have any more shells by any chance?" She asked the bartender. He shook his head in disappointment. "Don't beat yourself up. You did good." She reassured. She then returned her attention to Sarah. "I'm gonna make a break for one of the dead guy's guns. You want one?"

"You might as well just kill the remaining two." Sarah suggested.

"I'm not much for killing, Sarah."

"Then what kind of terminator are you!?"

"The kind that has a brain and a conscious!"

"It's _conscience_ , and I'll make sure to take you to therapy afterwards. Now get your ass out there!"

Alex reluctantly followed Sarah's order, and leaped over the counter, where she made a beeline for the first weapon she could see in the dark room. She grabbed that one, not checking for how many rounds were still loaded into it, and began firing at the two remaining men, that were hiding over by the DJ booth.

Along the way, she would pick up and not her weapon, and unload that one at the location, until it was empty and she'd have to throw it to the side.

Once she was close enough, she rounded the booth, and gave the one bouncer, a stern kick in the chest, causing him to fall back on top of the other. She snatched his weapon and unloaded the entire clip on the two, until it clicked empty. The now gory sight wasn't unicorns and rainbows.

 _That was a bit overkill…_

With all threats eliminated, Alex dropped the weapon, and made her way back to the bar counter. She was beginning to feel a little bit queasy at what she had just done.

"You okay, Tin Head?" Sarah asked, when she noticed that Alex turned an odd shade of green, and was holding her stomach.

"Yeah… Just not used to going full apeshit..." Alex assured. "That, and I think I can taste lead."

Sarah nodded in acceptance, and she looked at the scene that they had committed. It was another bloodbath. Police would definitely be all over this place. She glanced towards the security room, only to see the door open, and Hector Fonseca emerge from inside, before making a run for the back emergency exit.

"He's getting away!" Sarah mentioned and stared to give chase towards the man. She was happy to find that their target had stayed to view the entire show, but now they couldn't let him get away. Especially after he sent all of his men after them.

Alex nodded and was about to follow, but stopped when she saw Ricardo emerge and look at the dance floor in horror.

"Can you do me a favor and not tell anyone what happened?" Ricardo nodded. "Good." Alex smirked. "Because if you do, then I'd have to do to you, what I did to those guys behind the DJ booth." She turned and sprinted away, towards the exit, only to stop again. "Oh, and definitely don't look behind the DJ booth!"

With that said, Alex bolted out the emergency exit, leaving Ricardo in the nightclub, alone. "I am so fired."

•••

The emergency exit door flung open, and Hector Fonseca came sprinting out, followed by Sarah Connor not too long after. She began to pursue the man down the long stretch of alleyway that was before them.

This somewhat reminded her of the time Cameron was chasing that other terminator down the alleyway, and she used a motorcycle to disable it. That chase did end with Cameron getting hit by a car, however, and she wasn't the one chasing the terminator that time, so it was fairly different, yet very similar, at the same time.

Sarah was forced to abandon her high heels, in favor of her bare feet, if she was to have a chance at even chasing this guy.

But alas, broken glass bottles, and small rocks weren't exactly the most comfortable, when it came to chasing him down, as the pain slowed her down exponentially.

She was glad to find that when Hector came to a fork in the alleyway, a large black Dodge Ram had smacked into him, causing Hector to be launched at the ground.

Derek Reese exited the truck, and pulled his gun on Hector, and forced him onto his feet. "Guess we got you!"

"What the hell do you people want!?" Hector spat in frustration.

"Names!" Sarah snapped, as she approached. "We want to know who you're working for, and where the Turk is!"

"¡Chale!" Hector sneered.

In anger, Derek slammed Hector's head on the hood of the vehicle, and shoved his gun at his temple. "I'm not a very patient person." Derek menacingly whispered into his ear. "Now answer the goddamn question!"

Alex ran up to the two, just as they were interrogating Hector. "Oh, thank God, you caught him." She sighed in relief.

Panic began to take hold of Hector, as Alex had approached closer. After seeing what she did on the security cameras, he knew that she wasn't human. She took bullets like they were they were nothing. "Get that puta away from me!"

"What does _puta_ mean?" Alex confusingly.

Suddenly a mischievous smile came across Derek's face, as an idea popped into his head. He released Hector from his grasp and backed away. Hector looked at Derek, then Alex in confusion.

" _Puta_ means whore." Derek simply informed Alex.

Hector only watched in horror as Alex's face turned red, and she glared daggers at him. He gulped in fear. Then, all he remembered happening next, was that she grabbed his shirt collar, and hoisted him up, before slamming him down on the hood of the truck. He screamed out in pain, and looked as Alex glared at him with rage in her eyes.

How did someone possess the strength she had? He weighted just a little over two hundred pounds at least. How was she able to pick him up as of he were just a little puppy?

These were the times that she admired Alex's reluctance to not take anything seriously. "Now speak, or she'll make your day a whole lot worse!" Sarah ordered in a harsh tone.

"Okay, okay!" Hector agreed. Alex gave him some slack to let him speak. "I work for a woman. She comes in here every week, and she demands most of my profit from the club."

"What's her name?" Derek then demanded.

"Keran! Keran something." Was all that Hector was able to say. "She's Armenian!"

"Keran Azadian?" Sarah inquired.

"Si! Her!" Hector nodded.

Everyone looked at Hector in shock at this revelation. Never did they expect Keran. Sarah never liked, nor trusted the woman, but she never considered her a threat. Especially with her being linked to Sarkissian and the Turk. But now, these names on the wall linked her to just that too.

"What the hell does she give you in return?" Derek then pressed Hector. "Or are you just a little puppet?"

"We all are puppets." Hector snickered. "She gives me nothing. She only expects currency."

Those were the words that Derek and Sarah wanted to hear. His confession. Now only one question remained. What do they do with him? Derek looked at Alex who seemed to be eying Hector, like a lion that was preparing to strike a gazelle. He also noticed that she was in rough shape with over a dozen bullet holes embedded in her chest.

"You guys okay?" He decided on asking.

"Yeah, but we could have used some help." Sarah sighed.

Derek looked at Alex. "Nah, you have her." He shrugged.

"If it weren't for _her_ big mouth," she pointed her thumb at Alex. "We wouldn't have been in that mess in the first place." She said as she made her way to the truck. Due to Alex seemingly wanting to take another shot at Hector, she also was forced to drag the hybrid along with her.

"Thanks Hector." Derek patted the man on the shoulder, and joined Sarah and Alex in the truck.

"What happens now?" Hector asked Derek in confusion. He wondered why he was being let go so easily.

"We could kill you." Derek proposed. "Or, you keep this whole thing quiet, and we won't have to come back and have _her_." He pointed at Alex. "Kill you."

In reality he wanted Hector dead. It would be a lot easier to just kill him. He considered it a risk to keep him alive, but Sarah and John have practically drilled into him that "they are no better than Skynet if they act like it."

"Okay." Hector agreed. "I promise not to tell anyone. But what do I tell the police?"

"You're a smart man, Hector." Derek shrugged mockingly. "Figure it out. Just know that if we are somewhat mentioned, you won't be alive to see the sunrise tomorrow."

Derek got in the driver's seat, and began to drive away. While passing Hector, Derek quickly opened the door, smacking the man in the face, and knocking him unconscious. He chuckled, but Sarah gave him a piercing glare.

"What? We don't want him looking at our plates."

"Whatever." Sarah rolled her eyes, and looked out of the window. What Hector had said really shook her. She wondered how Keran was so powerful. The first time they ever seen her, she appeared so powerless, and scared. But it was all a charade to get them to trust her. "About what Hector said."

"About Keran?" Derek inquired. Sarah simply nodded. "Yeah, I was just thinking about that too."

"Keran has been playing us, Derek. This whole time she was probably the one we were looking for." Sarah berated herself. _How could I just see past this!?_

"So, what's next?" Alex inquired.

"First, we need a plan." Derek explained. "We need to find what her game is. Where she stashed the Turk."

"Agreed." Sarah nodded. She now felt stupid. Keran tricked them into being puppets as how Hector put it. If her assumption was correct than this whole time she was the cause of their misery.

 _ **Los Angeles, California, December 4, 2007: (New Connor Safehouse)**_

John did what he normally did when he was bored. Watching television in the living room. With how often Derek, and Alex were away, he found the TV unoccupied most of the time. It proved quite useful too. Some of these programs, that were on, he has never heard of. Some were quite fascinating that he tuned in every chance he got. Whether that be after school, on the weekends, or for a night like this. A night where he could have some peace and quiet to relax.

Life is complicated. That was what John Connor has been muttering to himself for the past month. Almost too much if he had to admit to himself. Now it became as common as the _"no one is ever safe"_ trope that his mother had instilled into him. And it was true. They were both true. No one was ever safe. No one. He only recently stopped taking that saying with a grain of salt. It just finally hit him. Chloe Reese wasn't safe. His cousin was shot and killed right in front of him, and he felt powerless. Chloe was whom he had considered family, was murdered. All because of who he was. His destiny, and his bad luck.

Life is complicated. That statement indeed held true. Especially with everything that went on in his life now. During the month long gap after his birthday, everyone had became divided it seemed. There was also the new house, but he didn't get too comfortable. It would be a matter of time again, before they'd move on to another.

John no longer felt as connected to his mother as he used to. They fought late at night, whether that be over something minor, or just something very opinionated. He felt as she no longer saw him as the great future leader she always thought of him as.

Then, there was Derek. John never really fought with Derek, but after Chloe's death, he was always out of the house. He sometimes went a week without seeing his uncle. He knew that Derek was always at some bar, drinking his sorrows away. Intoxicating himself above the normal limit of alcohol consumption. He didn't blame him either. Having someone you cared for, so deeply, get taken away from you just like that? Let's just say, on a spiritual level, John was in the same boat Derek was in.

There was also Alex. His _supposed friend_. It wasn't that he hated Alex or anything, or vice versa. They just never talked. She and his mother were always out on some mission, after some other future Resistance fighter had wrote names on the wall in blood. They had their arguments from time to time, but that was mainly over who used the shower first.

That left him alone with Cameron most days. His cyborg protector. The one who _didn't trust him anymore_. He couldn't believe it. After _she_ tried to kill him. She! He was immediately casted out by her. When he had saved her life. When he was faced with a decision of either leaving his best friend to die in a pit of thermite, or risking _his own_ life, to save _her_. He did it out of selflessness. Because he didn't want to see someone he cared about burn to death. Not again.

But sometimes, he wondered if the first option would have been the better route. At least that way he wouldn't have to deal with the pain of looking at her everytime she checked up on him.

But not everything was terrible, he had to admit. Everything almost seemed to turn around for him when he started hanging out more with Cherie Westin. Probably the only person who actually made him feel happy. He felt normal when he was around her. Almost as if the weight of his destiny was lifted from his shoulders. He wasn't sure what to think about her yet. It was too early to tell. But one thing was certain. He wouldn't-

"What are you doing?"

 _Guess tonight isn't gonna be a quiet night, after all._

John turned his head and saw Cameron standing there in her normal stiff posture. If you could call it normal that is. He didn't like the blank curious looks she gave him. "What do you want?"

"I was asking what you were doing." Cameron repeated. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" John sarcastically pointed at the television screen.

She looked up at the television and studied what was displayed on the screen. "It looks like you're watching an episode of Csi: Miami." Cameron stated matter of factly.

"Good. Now that you know what I'm doing, so you can leave me in peace, right?" John asked hopefully. _Please just leave me alone._

"Your mother said I have to keep an eye on you." Cameron stubbornly replied.

John rolled his eyes so hard, he was sure his retinas were gonna snap. His mother leaving him here with his cyborg protector. The one whom had just tried to kill him a month ago. What was she thinking, exactly? Alex would've been the more obvious choice of watching him, but Sarah seemed to favor Alex in ride alongs. He hated this. Hated the fact that he could practically talk to nobody in this house. No one, except Cherie. But that was only at school since his mother would never allow a stranger in their home. Someone she didn't trust.

"John?" Cameron touched his shoulders. He immediately broke away from his deep thoughts, and saw Cameron looking down at him, tilting her head in confusion.

"What?" John mumbled.

"You were spacing out." She told him with her blank tone.

"Yeah, well you-" John stopped mid sentence, when his eyes suddenly diverted downwards to look at Cameron's upper torso. He wasn't looking at what other guys his age did, but he was instead looking at what she was wearing. A black zip up hoodie, with a white outline near the collar and hood. He immediately recognized the hoodie. Who's it was. John stood up and looked at Cameron with anger boiling over. "Take that off!"

"Why?" Cameron tilted her head again. But this time, it was in confusion.

"I don't have to give you a reason, just take it off!" John spat in anger.

Cameron was beyond confused. John was yelling at her, but he also wasn't giving her a reason. Luckily Sarah, Derek, and Alex chose to enter at that exact moment, and entered to see John shouting at the young cyborg. Although John didn't seem to notice their arrival, Cameron did, and she turned to look at them. John in frustration gazed to what she was looking at, and saw his mother, uncle, and Alex standing their with no words.

"What's going on here?" Sarah demanded in a calm tone. With everything that happened tonight, she was hoping that she wouldn't come home just to deal with this.

John ignored his mother and faced Cameron again. "That is Chloe's hoodie!" He hissed. "Take. it. off!"

"Cameron… do as he says." Sarah calmly requested.

Cameron looked at Sarah. "Why? Chloe has no use for it anymore. She's dead."

Just as she said that, Derek looked at the machine with both anger, and sadness. But surprisingly, he didn't say, or do anything to make the situation possibly worse. He just stared at her with his eyes widened.

It just wasn't Derek, however. Sarah, John, and Alex looked at the young cyborg, speechless. They knew she didn't understand what it was like to lose someone you care about, but this seemed to hit a new low. Even for her.

In rage, John had knocked his water glass of the coffee table, with it shattering on the wooden floorboards. "Take the damn thing off!"

Cameron reluctantly obeyed John's order, and took off the hoodie, then handing it to John. He snatched the small bit of cloth from her grasp and stormed upstairs. All that anyone could hear after that, was his bedroom door slamming shut.

Following that, Derek stormed into the kitchen, and Alex made her way upstairs, making sure to give Cameron a glare before fully ascending.

"How dare you say that, Tin Miss!" Sarah scolded. "That was just messed up."

"It's been a month… We can't grieve for Chloe forever." Cameron stated opinionatedly.

That infuriated Sarah. It took every bit of willpower, every bit of control to keep herself from either walking up to the machine and slapping her across the face, or just grabbing her trusty 50. Caliber rifle from the shed; loaded with full metal jacket rounds, and blowing her to bits. Either way, she needed to set Cameron straight.

"You mention her ever again, and I'll scrap you myself." Sarah said with venom. She glanced at the shattered glass cup on the floor. "And make yourself useful while you're at it, and pick up the damn glass." She then ordered. With that she turned on her literal heels, and went into the kitchen.

Cameron knelt down to pick up the pieces of glass individually, and placed them all in her left palm. From the kitchen, Sarah rolled her eyes. She half expected Cameron to come and retrieve the broom and dustpan, but she instead opted for the more time consuming, and idiotic way of cleaning.

When she entered the kitchen, she noticed Derek right in front of the sink, staring out the window. She had to say she was surprised he wasn't drinking like he normally did. The hard liquid was in the shelf on his right, and the beer was in the fridge. She felt concerned for the hardened soldier. Cameron did somewhat have a point. It has been month since Chloe died. She halfway felt that Derek had enough time to grieve for the loss of his daughter.

Then again, she still has never gotten over Kyle's death. After sixteen years of him being dead, she still sometimes cries at night at the thought of never having him hold her again. The thought of her raising John alone without him by her side. John never getting to know his father. "Are you all right?"

"That damn machine had to mention her, Sarah." Derek murmured while keeping his back turned to her. "That damn machine!" He said a little louder and slammed his fist into the tile counter.

"I know…. I'm sorry about that. Her behavior is uncalled for-"

"That machine doesn't have behavior, Sarah. It just doesn't understand anything, except how to kill!" Derek interrupted. "After it tried to kill John, I still can't believe you leave that _thing_ alone with him."

"What other choice do I have? Alex treats John like he's a God sometimes, and I fear she'll try to get into his pants. At least with Cameron I know nothing like that happens. She's an emotionless machine that John isn't too fond of right now."

"All you're worried about right now is if John decides to bang a damn machine?" Derek scoffed. "I say to hell with it! The machine is practically a walking sex toy that can kill you. At least Alex is in a sense still human!"

"We're done having this conversation." Sarah hissed. She mentally gagged at that thought. The last thing she wanted to think about, was her son considering on using either terminator as a way to _get off_. With no response from Derek, and she already done with their bickering, Sarah turned to walk out of the kitchen and to her room, where she could get out of this dress and into something way more comfortable.

As she was about to pass through the doorway, Derek spoke again, but in a tone that sounded broken.

"Sarah, I'm sorry." Derek called out. She stopped in her tracks, turning to face the man. To her surprise, he was now looking at her. His eyes were red and glossy. A very different state than she was used to seeing the hardened soldier.

"About Chloe. The way I've had to raise her since her mother died…. It was tough. I was always at war, hoping that I would make it home safe to see her again. When she spent time in Century for six months, I thought that I'd never see her again. I was so happy to find that she was alive. So when John; future John offered me a mission to go back in time, I jumped at it, only for one favor."

"And what was that?" Sarah asked, having a general idea what the answer was.

"That I would only go if I could take her with me. I didn't want to keep her around in the future when almost every other soldier feared her model. It became dangerous for her on both sides." Derek answered.

"You never told me this." Sarah murmured in astonishment. "Why now?"

"Because it's hard to admit that you've done something for someone you care about but treat like absolute garbage!" Derek berated himself. "I wanted Chloe to actually have a life. I wanted to give her something more than just a pointless life of fighting the machines. But it didn't matter. I didn't do the most simplest thing and spend time with her. Talk to her. She died knowing that her father was a hard ass, piece of shit, that cared nothing about anyone, except the goddamn mission."

"Derek-"

"Even if you didn't like how I raised her. How I dealt with her arguing, like when I first got hurt and I told her to stay away from the metal... I still loved her. If I was there that day, I would've taken that bullet for her too. But I wasn't. I was somewhere else only concerned about the mission and leaving my own daughter helpless."

"I'm sorry." Sarah apologized sincerely. She was surprised that Derek was getting this deep, but she welcomed it nonetheless. "You know… Chloe is like you in so many ways. She was strong, and determined. I miss her too. Not as much as you do, but I really do miss her. I actually felt like she was my own."

"Look, I'm gonna go get some rest. Just know that you can always talk to me about her when you need." Sarah told Derek with a sad smile. "We may not get along all the time, Derek, but you being Kyle's brother, that makes us family in a sense. And family is always there for each other." With that, Sarah exited the kitchen, and walked upstairs to her room.

Derek stood in the same spot for a long moment. He had to admit, he somewhat did feel a little better talking to Sarah about this. Getting it off of his chest seemed to ease the pain.

At least that was until Cameron walked into the kitchen with the broken pieces of glass in her hand, and she swept them into the trash bin.

Derek gave her a piercing glare. _Damn machine can't leave me alone for one damn second!_ Not wanting to be in her presence any longer than necessary, Derek grabbed the truck keys that were still in his pocket, and went left through the kitchen door. He only had one thing on his mind right now. Find the nearest bar, and get shit faced like most nights.

•••

Meanwhile, in John laid in his in his bed, in his room, staring up at the ceiling. He mostly found interest in looking up at the glowing stars that were plastered all over the ceiling. But frankly, he hated this room. While Alex and Cameron were forced to share yet another room together, they were given the second best room in the whole house. He however was stuck with a shitty kids room. Sailboat wallpaper, the toys that were all cluttered up in the closet, because he didn't know what to do with them, and the small bed frame that he struggled to sleep in. Even Cameron had a bed. A much better bed than he. And she didn't sleep!

 _*Knock, knock, knock, knock*_

John slightly lifted his head to look at the door in confusion. He didn't really expect anyone to come checking up on him, nor did he even count on it. Everyone else was so caught up with their own business he was practically casted out from everyone. "Who is it?"

"It's Alex." She announced from the other end. "May I come in?"

"Sure." John gave the green light. She slowly opened the door, and peeked her head inside. She saw John still lying in his bed, not caring much for her presence. She walked in, and closed the door behind her. "What do you want?" He then asked.

"Just checking up on you." Alex simply answered. "Are you okay?"

John noticed that she was still wearing her dress from earlier. But he didn't expect her to be riddled with bullets. Alex was never really the one to take bullets like a terminator. She normally was all shoot and scoot. "I think I should be asking _you_ that question." John said as he sat up.

Alex took a seat on the edge of John's bed. "I'm a terminator, John. I can take a few bullets." She chuckled, unable to suppress a smile. "But yeah. I am. Thanks for asking."

"I'm guessing mom or Derek didn't even ask how you were feeling?" John asked, already knowing the answer. They didn't care much for machines. Even if she was half human still. To them, she was a tool.

"Sarah is a little mad that I got us into a bar fight, and Derek isn't very conversational these days." Alex explained. She randomly glanced at his desk chair and saw the same hoodie that he took from Cameron. "I didn't even know we still had any of her clothes." She then added.

"Guess you and Derek grabbed it by mistake." John grumbled.

Alex just nodded in acknowledgement. "I'm sorry we haven't been talking that much lately."

"It's been a month since we last spoke." John clarified simply.

"Yeah… I guess me and Sarah been caught up with this whole Turk business." Alex explained sadly. She felt guilty. The last time she spoke to him was right after Cameron's…. Malfunction and Chloe's passing. After the funeral she didn't even reassure him. She wasn't even sure if Sarah talked to him about it.

Now she understood why future John was so reserved. Why he was so different from others. He was practically alone. He had no one to talk to about feelings and such. That was why he was so cold sometimes.

"It's okay. I get it." John forced a smile.

"Look, John… I wanted to talk to you about… that day." She brought up sheepishly.

John's neutral expression turned into a frown. "I really would wish we didn't talk about it."

"I know, I know." She agreed. Talking about that day held a sore spot in her too. Both mentally and physically. "But it's very important that we do, John." He didn't reply, and instead took to looking away from Alex and around his surroundings. "I'm sorry for what Cameron said. She was out of line to say that, even though she may have had a point."

"So what exactly are we talking about? What happened in the living room, or what happened a month ago?" John crossed his arms.

"Is there really a difference?" Alex inquired. "Do you miss her? Chloe, I mean?" She then clarified.

"She was my friend, and I watched her die next to me." John answered. _She was also my cousin,_ he added that last part mentally. Tears began to well up in his eyes, at the remembrance of that day. "I was about to celebrate my birthday with everyone I loved…. I was thinking of what we would do, where we would go for dinner. The laughs we would have had… the memories we could have made."

Even though John fought off the urge to cry, he couldn't stop the tears from pouring from his eyes. He felt sadness and anger. But the anger overtook the sorrow. He was furious with himself. Alex put her hand on his shoulder and sat right next to him on the bed, and wrapped her arms around him, and continued to listen to him.

"Before everything happened, I pictured us going to Olive Garden, or Applebee's, or something. I imagined us all ordering the most cheapest food on the menu, just to end up sharing most of it. It would have been silly to share all our food, but that didn't matter to me…. Being all together made me feel like our mission, our life was nonexistent. Like we were normal for once."

"Maybe one day that can happen." Alex mentioned. "If we put our minds to it, we can stop Skynet, and we can order all the cheap appetizers we want." She then added that last part with a giggle.

"Yeah, but Chloe won't be there…" John wiped his tears away.

"I could tell that you two had a unique bond. Like she was actual family to you." Alex reassured. "I thought it was quite funny when she humiliated Cameron, and she would try to do the same."

"Before she died, Chloe attacked me." John changed the subject.

Alex looked at him with her pale blue eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"After she got mad at me, she attacked me when I was trying to apologize to her. I ended up taking away her knife. I said _'you can have this back when I can trust you.'"_

"And?" Alex asked, listening intently.

He reached under his bed, and pulled a small marble bag, before setting it on his lap. He then pulled out a small object, revealing itself to be a pocket knife. "I never was able to give it back to her." He remembered finding it in the SUV the other day, when he was cleaning it out. He almost thought it was lost in the old safehouse, when it went ablaze.

"I'm sorry, John." Alex sincerely apologized. The look on John's face when he looked down at that knife almost made her want to shed a tear. She and Chloe got along quite well, if she had to say so. They never really fought, and they did occasionally talk at school when Chloe would ditch fourth hour to talk to her.

John put the knife back into the small bag, and set it back underneath the bed. He then pulled out a small med kit, in place of the bag, and set it on his lap. "I think we should stitch you up."

Alex couldn't help but raise her eyebrow at him. "Uhhh, John. You do see where the bullet holes are, right?" She also pointed at her chest to emphasize it more.

"Yeah?" John shrugged. "So? It's not the first time I've seen you naked, remember? Time traveling vaporizes our clothes." He never had a problem with nudity, although modesty was normally a key factor in the Connor home.

"You do know I could do it myself, right?" Alex then pointed out.

"Yeah, but sometimes it's nice to have help." John insisted. Despite his teenage hormones, he more or less was at least glad to say that he was able to keep them at bay. For the meantime at least. If his friend was hurt, he wanted to help.

Alex hesitated, but reluctantly consented. _Yeah, he probably just wants to see me naked._ She first closed the door, just to make sure Sarah didn't come in, and literally have a heart attack from her son picking bullets from her exposed chest. Although Cameron didn't care about modesty either, it would also prove very discomforting to have her watch from the doorway either.

Once the door was closed, Alex sat back down on the bed, and undid her dress straps and pulled them downwards. Blood stained her dress as well as her artificial skin. It would have to be thrown away later.

John's eyes widened, if only for a second. But he was able to keep his composure, and stopped concentrating on her breasts, and focused on digging out the bullets. Good thing the chest, was for the most part, well armored, if not for the…. Well... tricky areas that John had to dig out. It was also difficult for him to not "grab" anything by mistake.

"You know, your future self once got embarrassed when he had to dig bullets from my back." She chuckled, trying to make conversation.

"Really?" John inquired.

"Yeah." Alex laughed. "I mean it was just my back, so it didn't make much sense to me why. It's kinda funny now that I think about it. Especially when you're here digging them out of my boobs."

John's face turned red, and he looked up at Alex. "You're making this much more difficult than it has to be. You know that right?"

"Guess someone is now embarrassed." Alex gave a mischievous smirk. John shook his head, and went back to taking the bullets out. "Guess you can say that you got to second base with me."

John looked back up at her. "Are you done?"

Alex giggled again. "Yes, I'm done." John sighed sighed in relief, and went back to meticulously pulling the bullets out and placing them onto a small tin cup.

From outside the bedroom, Cameron was peeking through the door, at the two, who were oblivious to her presence. Cameron dropped downwards before she quietly shut the door, making sure not to alert any of them of her presence.

 _ **Los Angeles, California, December 4, 2007: (Club Venus)**_

A black SUV drove along the still very busy streets of Los Angeles, until it came to a halt in front of a building with the words: "Club Venus" written on the large neon sign. Police tape surrounded the entire entrance, as well as some police officers still being present at the scene.

A large man got out of the driver's seat, and rounded the vehicle to open the back passenger door. A woman got out of the car, where she looked at her surroundings, and made her way towards the entrance, with the man walking closely behind her. The man wore a simple black business suit, while the woman wore a short black skirt, with a short cropped leather jacket.

As the two made their way to the entrance, they were halted by the guarding police officer.

"Sorry ma'am, this is an ongoing crime scene, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave." He said with a serious demeanor.

The woman looked at the police officer with her piercing green eyes flashing. "I am the owner of this place. Now if you'll excuse me." She told the officer, and walked on through. The officer didn't try to stop her, and just looked forward.

Once she was inside, she was greeted with more police tape, and a few more officers investigating the scene. There, she saw Hector Fonseca talking with the lieutenant. She walked up to the man, just as the officer had walked away.

"Hello, Hector." She smiled.

Hector turned and he immediately went pale. "H-hello, Keran." He nervously shook her hand. "What brings you here?"

"By the looks of this place, you were attacked?" Keran ignored his question. Hector nodded hasty. "By Sarah Connor, I'm guessing?" She then asked.

"You told me that they'd come here, but you didn't say one of them was-"

"Was what, Hector?" Keran gave a devilish smirk.

"One of them... Those machines that your boss likes to keep around." Hector stammered.

Keran grabbed a chair from of the overturned tables and took took a seat. Hector noticed that she wore a very short black skirt, complete with six inch heels. He couldn't help but stare at her perfectly toned legs. "Now tell me," Hector broke from his thoughts when Keran spoke again. "What did you tell Sarah?"

"I didn't tell her anything." Hector lied. "Just like you said."

"Good." She gave a warm smile. Again, Hector couldn't help but stare at Keran's legs, as he was practically drooling. "Do you like what you see?"

Again, Hector broke out of his lustful thoughts."Umm, no ma'am- I mean yes- no I mean-"

"It's okay, Hector." Keran stood up and walked closer to him. "You can be honest with me." She then seductively whispered into his ear.

Hector smiled at the thought, and tickling sensation that her closeness held. His heart was beating so fast, that he couldn't hear any of the officers talking in the background. "Okay…. Yes. I do like what I see-"

Just before Hector could finish that sentence, he was quite literally thrown against the wall, where he crashed through the drywall. He opened his eyes, gritting his teeth at the pain his back felt yet again. This was the second time he had been abused in this fashion. Hector was once again met with Keran's face meeting only inches away from his. She was on top of him, looking at him menacingly. But what was more scary, was the fact that her green eyes were glowing.

He also quite literally pissed his pants.

"You're lying, Hector. I don't appreciate when you lie to me about things." Keran monotone with a scary expression.

"I didn't lie about that! You're an attractive woman!"

"Not that!" Keran snarled. "I'm talking about what you told Sarah Connor!"

"Ma'am! Let him go!" Keran turned to see the lieutenant, as well as the other officers aiming their service weapons at her. "Ma'am, don't make me ask you again!"

Keran smirked and looked at her shofer. "Stone, would you be a dear and show the nice men out?" He nodded once, and pulled an M9 from his suit jacket, and shot the lieutenant between the eyes. All the other officers looked at Stone in horror.

"Fire!"

All remaining four officers unloaded their clips into Stone, as the bullets embedded themselves into his chest. But he didn't do so much as stumble. All the officers looked at the man in confusion and fright. Just then, Stone rose his weapon and shot the other three officers in the chests, killing them instantly. The last remaining officer hid behind one of the already overturned, bullet stricken tables, trying to get away from the hulking brute.

Stone walked up to the table, and picked it up with one hand, before tossing it away like it was styrofoam. Before the last officer could blink, Stone had stomped on the officers head, causing it to burst open like a watermelon.

Hector's eyes widened. He wanted to throw up, but he couldn't. Keran had her knee on his windpipe, cutting of his breathing, and ability to even speak. "You like him? They call them T-800's. For what they lack in knowledge, they make up for in strength."

"Now, what did you tell Sarah Connor?" Keran demanded coldly. She eased her knee off of Hector's throat slightly, giving him just enough to take a deep breath and speak.

"She wanted to know the name of who I worked for!" Hector explained. "I had no choice! She was going to have her pet machine kill me if I didn't!"

"Oh." Keran mused, and she stood up, and helped Hector on his feet. "See. It's better to tell the truth, is it not?"

Hector pathetically nodded. "I'm sorry, Keran. I know. I messed up."

Keran unexpectedly wrapped her arms around Hector, and gave him a tight squeeze. "It's okay, Hector. As long as you learned your lesson, I'm willing to give you a second chance."

"Really?" Hector inquired with surprise.

Keran laughed. "No."

Before Hector could even blink, Keran pulled small 38. from her leather jacket and unloaded a bullet into his gut. Hector fell to the ground, looking at the wound, and then Keran, who was looking down at him with a frown on her face. "I'm sorry, Hector. But you do know that there are no room for mistakes in this line of business."

"K-Keran…" Hector struggled to say through the unsensational pain.

She ignored his plea, and turned to face Stone. "Burn this place down. I want no evidence of anything that occurred here today."

With that, she walked out of the club, leaving the large machine to look at Hector as he bled. The machine left and returned with a few cans of kerosene, where he began to dump them methodically around the whole club, making sure that the fire left nothing. The machine produced a small lighter from his suit jacket, and flicked it open, before dropping it into one of the kerosene puddles.

All that could he heard as the the T-800 walked out of the club, was the sounds of Hector Fonseca screaming in pain, as the flames had engulfed every inch of his body.

Stone got into the driver's seat, and drove off. Soon, the entire building was engulfed, and before any emergency personnel could arrive, the building had already succumbed to the fire, and collapsed.

"Where is our next destination?" Stone inquired blankly.

"San Francisco. There is someone I need to speak with." Keran ordered.

"Affirmative." Stone obeyed. He pulled the destination from his memory banks and began to follow a specific route to reach the location. It would take longer to get there, but it would draw less attention that way.

 _ **Los Angeles, California, December 5, 2007: (Connor Safehouse)**_

It was a fairly quiet morning at the Connor safehouse. For Cameron that is. The sun was just barely beginning to rise, so that left a lot of things that the young cyborg needed to accomplish beforehand. First, she had to finish doing the laundry, like Sarah ordered her to. Then she had to patrol the perimeter for any threats to John's life.

Once that was done, she'd return home, and get ready for school. Taking a shower before John, Derek, Alex, and Sarah was key if she wanted to avoid using very cold water. She preferred the hot water. The coldness tended to make her skin bumpy which she found not to like very much.

After washing herself, Cameron stepped out of the shower, and onto the bath mat to catch the water dripping off her. She grabbed a town from the rack, and began to dry herself off meticulously, making sure not to leave a single drop of water on her.

Once done, she wrapped the towel around her, and walked out of the bathroom, and into hers and Alex's room. Their room, and John's were joined together by the bathroom, which forced them to share it. But she knew that disturbing John wasn't a good idea. The two didn't seem to get along lately.

Cameron closed the door behind her, because she knew that everyone threw a fit every time she didn't display any modesty. She then proceeded to grab her clothes from bottom dresser, and began to get dressed, just as Alex woke up.

She more or less was awoken with a great view of Cameron's rear. "Butt alert!" Alex rubbed her eyes groggily. "Please put something on."

"It's not my fault. You woke up five minutes earlier than you normally do." Cameron explained blankly, and continued to get dressed.

"Yeah, whatever." Alex muttered uninterested, and yawned loudly. She got out of bed, and started making her way to the bathroom.

"John just entered the shower." Cameron informed before Alex turned the knob.

She put her ear up to the door, and sure enough, she heard the shower start. "Guess I'm gonna have to wait to brush my teeth."

"It takes John approximately thirteen minutes to take a shower." Cameron mentioned. "It's 7:09 and we have to leave the house by 7:40 at least, if we are to make it on time to school."

"Fine! I'll just borrow Derek's toothbrush again." Alex irritably mumbled and stormed out of the room.

When Cameron was fully dressed, and she applied a little bit of makeup, she grabbed her school bag, and made her way downstairs. There she saw Derek passed out on the sofa. She could tell that he had been drinking. He gave the awful odor of someone who hasn't showered in days, mixed with liquor.

John and Alex wouldn't be down for another ten minutes, or so, so she walked into the kitchen, and sat down at the dining table, patiently waiting for them.

After some time had passed, Sarah strolled into the kitchen, and started making her infamous pancakes, that were either too watery, or to dry and crispy. Cameron wanted to give Sarah some tips on making pancakes, but she had a feeling that she'd get a shouting match in return. So she calculated that the best option was to just let her do what she pleased, and not say anything.

Although Sarah did notice Cameron's presence, she did her best not to draw any attention to her. The last thing she wanted was to talk to a machine this early in the morning.

"Good morning, Sarah." Cameron decided to greet, calculating that this was the best _"ice breaker"_ as she was told.

Sarah looked at the young teenage cyborg with surprise. "What did you say?"

"I said good morning." She repeated monotonously. _Maybe her hearing is damaged from shooting firearms without ear protection?_

"I know what you said, but why did you say it? You never said that to me before." Sarah replied somewhat confused. After the incident, she had- has been acting stranger than usual. She has been more curious lately about everything, but has developed a her own personality in a sense. She's taken the worst human traits and implemented them into her own. That's at least what Sarah thought.

"I thought I'd try something different." Cameron stated. "Is it wrong?"

Sarah sighed. As much as she didn't appreciate the machine, she thought a nice answer would satisfy it. "No. It's not wrong, Tin Miss."

A small smirk crept up her lips that Sarah was able to notice. A chill went down her spine. She decided that pretending not to see it was the best option, and went back to making pancakes. _It had to be mimicking,_ Sarah thought. After what Alex described as her going as far as telling John that she loved him, all for self preservation, that's what this had to be. Lower her guard or trick her into liking the machine.

Knowing that this was what Cameron was most likely doing, she turned her attention back to the pancakes.

After much error, Sarah had finally made two stacks of pancakes for everyone, making sure to make extra for Derek and Alex. She knew that they could scarf down a whole stack alone. Guess that's what someone from the future does, when you spend most days starving. She finished just time to have both John and Alex make their way down the staircase, waking Derek in the process.

"Do you have to be so damn loud?" Derek covered his ears. Both John and Alex could tell that he had a hangover. "Stomp around the whole damn house while you're at it!"

They ignored his morning grumpiness and took a seat at the dining table, where the proceeded to get a few pancakes from the stack. John only grabbed two, while Alex, on the other hand, grabbed four. That was one stack down. One to go.

Everyone ate in silence, as Derek had reluctantly woke up and made his way to the kitchen and took a seat next to John. He grabbed a few pancakes himself, but didn't eat them. He just covered his face, trying to hide the fact that he was very hungover from last night's drinking craze.

"Rough night, Derek?" John asked, already knowing the answer. He wasn't stupid. He knew that every night he snuck out of the house and got wasted before magically ending up home. John was sure he drove home drunk, but decided that against pressing him on details.

"Yeah." Derek simply acknowledged.

"You should drink plenty of water, and take two baby aspirin." Cameron suggested. Everyone looked at her with eyes widened. She never gave Derek helpful advice except for when it came to what went into making homemade explosives, or weaponry. Cameron noticed the strange looks that came from everyone, including Derek. "It will cure your hangover." She then sheepishly added before standing up, and leaving the room.

"Did the Tin Can just help me?" Derek asked confusingly.

"Yeah. I think she did." Sarah mumbled, also confused as Derek. "Tin Miss has been acting very strange lately."

"She could malfunction again, and try to kill John." Derek mentioned. "Maybe it's best that we shut her off and burn her before that happens."

"We can't do that, Derek." Alex sternly glared at the hardened soldier.

"Why not? You hate her as much as we do." Derek pointed out. "You have a sudden change of heart or something?"

 _It would be easier to just snap his neck._ "No, but as much as I hate having her around, we need her. More so than you think."

John dropped his fork, and stood up. He slung his bag around his shoulders. "Alright, we better get going, or we're going to be late." John announced. He went up to his mother and gave her a short hug, and bid farewell to Derek, before the two retrieved Cameron from upstairs, and set out for another day of high school.

While in the car, Cameron sat in the back, staring out the window. John and Alex spent the whole trip talking non-stop. But Cameron didn't pay much attention to it. She was too busy replaying yesterday's encounter in John's bedroom, and this morning, in her head. She couldn't describe what she was feeling, or if she was even feeling at all. Maybe it was just another glitch? She's been having plenty of those lately, so what made it any different?

She stored this glitch away in her data banks for later analysis. She needed to understand what was happening. If it was something that would interfere in her mission to protect John, then she needed to correct it.

 _ **Los Angeles, California, December 5, 2007: (Downtown Los Angeles)**_

James Ellison wondered what this was about. What this person wanted. Just yesterday he received a phone call from some unknown woman who wanted to meet him. He didn't know what to think about this. What if it was that machine? What if she wanted to finish the job with him like she did with his men? He wasn't sure why she kept him alive. What her goal was.

What confused him even more was the fact that this woman in fact owned an entire corporation. Zeira Corp was was its name. All he knew about the business was that it was a technology manufacturer. Everything from everyday life essentials- to military contracts.

The elevator door opened and Ellison stepped out of it, where he walked down the short hallway. Immediately he saw the office door open. He didn't want to walk through and be rude, so he decided to peek his head in and knock lightly. But before he could do just that, she spoke.

"Come in, Mr. Ellison." The woman smiled. Ellison was confused as to how she knew he was already here, but entered nonetheless. She was who he read about. Catherine Weaver. The new CEO of Zeira Corp after her husband's sudden death in plane crash.

Some conspirators thought it was she who killed him to gain the company for herself. Then there were those who thought that the rival company: CyberSystems was responsible for the attempted murder of the whole family. Luckily both Catherine and her daughter survived. Otherwise one of those conspiracies could have been proven true.

"Hello, Ms. Weaver. I heard you really wanted to meet me?" Ellison shook the woman's hand. _Why is her hand so cold?_

"Yes. I did." She replied rather blankly. "Take a seat." Ellison did so and sat down in the comfy black leather chair behind him.

"So, what is it that you want?" Ellison inquired curiously.

"I want to offer you a job, Mr. Ellison." She said rather too quickly.

"A job?" Ellison inquired with amazement. He definitely did not expect to have another job opportunity, outright like this.

"Yes. I heard about the massacre that you were involved in. Those men you led. A tragedy it was." Weaver explained.

"That was a mistake on my part. It costed me my job at the bureau. That is something I'm gonna have to live with for the rest of my life." Ellison muttered with guilt. Never could he tell what actually happened that day. What that teenage girl really was. A killer machine from the future. The one Sarah Connor predicted.

"And that's what I wanted to talk to you about." Weaver smirked. "Tell me. What did you really see that day, Mr. Ellison?"

"There is nothing that I saw that day except a woman, who I clearly underestimated." Ellison said with reserve.

Weaver mused at the answer she was given. It wasn't one that she expected, but one that she knew he'd give. "Can I ask you something?"

"You may." Ellison nodded.

"Do you believe that this woman who killed your men, wasn't human?"

"I don't understand the question." Ellison stammered. Weaver knew he was lying, but she knew he had his reasons for it, also. He was scared of something. She reached into also folder that was right next to her and pulled out a photo, and slid it over to Ellison. He studied the photograph, with sweat beginning to form on his forehead. It looked almost identical to the hand that was still in his freezer. "H-how did you get this?"

"That, Mr. Ellison, was recovered from my husband's plane crash." Weaver acknowledged. "Now, I'm gonna ask you again. What did you really see that day? Do you believe that the woman who killed your men, wasn't human?"

"For years I've been following Sarah Connor's case after the attack on Cyberdyne in 1997. Her ramblings on machines from the future that were here to kill her son, landed her in the nuthouse. Me, as well as everyone else, thought she was crazy... That was until-"

"Until you saw one yourself." Weaver stated.

"Until I saw what killed my men, yes." Ellison agreed. "She was on the security footage of a high school in New Mexico in '99. The same place where John Connor was ironically at, only to be saved by some other female machine. They were both seen again, a few months ago, in a mall in this very city. When we found her location we thought we'd take her out and find what exactly she was."

"But you underestimated what she was." She repeated his earlier statement.

"I did." Ellison sadly agreed. It's hard to get sleep when all you can see is your men getting brutally murdered by something they didn't understand. Something that they had no knowledge of ever existing.

"That's why I wanted to speak with you, Ellison. You saw something that is linked to my husband's death. You say that these… machines, are the predictions of Sarah Connor. I believe that we can help each other. Together we can find the truth and truly learn about what these machines want."

Ellison was certainly surely surprised to say the least. This woman just offered him a chance to keep studying what these machines are and what their mission is. After being fired by the FBI, he thought he'd go back to his teenage years and end up working in a fast food joint yet again. This was an opportunity that he couldn't just pass up. This was his chance at redemption. His chance to make things right.

"When do I start?"

 _ **San Francisco, California, December 5, 2007: (Unknown Location)**_

Keran Azadian, stepped out of her car, where she was greeted with one of the city's vast skyscrapers. One of the largest in the whole state. She, along with Stone, easily waltzed inside. Security paid no attention to her and the large _T-800_ , as they passed the metal detector, that clearly went off, and made their way to the elevator. Keran pushed the top button, and the elevator closed before ascending up.

Soon the elevator reached the top floor, and it opened, revealing a nicely decorated office that looked a little too modern if she had any say in it. They stepped out, and the two walked forward. Keran ordered Stone to say outside while she met with this person.

When she entered the office she saw a man gazing out the window looking at the city underneath. He wore a nice fitted gray suit complete with a dark blue tie.

But he always kept his face hidden from everyone. When it came to meetings, he always did just that. Stare out the window like he was in deep thought. No reflection ever even captured a glimmer of his face either. You'd expect that from a window. The only sense of appearance you would ever get from him, was that his hair was dark brown.

"Keran. Come in." The man acknowledged, not looking away from the window.

Keran did so and took a seat in one of the office chairs. "Sorry I'm here on such short notice." She apologized. "We have a little problem."

"I'm well aware of that." The man nodded.

"Sarkissian is dead, sir." Keran explained. "But I was able to sell the Turk to Catherine Weaver like you originally requested."

"Good." The man mused. "You were always the smart one, Keran. Loyal and able to adapt to situations. That is why I am putting you in charge of everything in Los Angeles."

"Sir, I am honored." Keran blushed. It took every ounce of control to remain professional. "I won't fail you like Sarkissian did."

"Sarkissian was only a puppet." The man simply stated. "He was reckless, and he was ignorant."

"Then why put him in charge in the first place?" Keran inquired.

"In order for my plan to work, I needed Sarkissian in that position. His death was necessary for us to move forward with our plans." He explained rather simply.

"Sir, what are your plans?" Keran curiously asked. She knew that it wasn't the best idea to ask such a question.

"In time you will know." The man answered. "Are you aware of the high demand that the military wants in artificial intelligence development? How much money they spend in research?" He then asked Keran.

"Not really." Keran replied. "It varies on each country that attempts it's development."

"The United States has spent around five hundred million dollars to fund just the research alone. In a few months time, we will have already developed a fully sentient artificial intelligence that will surpass almost every current AI on the planet."

"And this will become Skynet, I assume?" Keran asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes… but there is one problem that we still have. John Connor." The man explained.

"You want me to kill him?" Keran asked a little too excitedly.

The man shook his head in disagreement. "No. For now I don't want him dead. But given the fact that he is much younger, gives us a great opportunity."

"An opportunity?" Keran rose her eyebrow on confusion.

Suddenly, the door behind them opened, and a beautiful teenage girl entered. Keran was stunned. She had long flowing dirty blonde hair. She was quite small however. She only seemed to be 5'1 or somewhere in that range. But what really struck her was this young girl's eyes. Her right eye was a piercing blue, while the other was light green.

"Keran, meet Emily." The man introduced.

"Wow." Keran breathed in amazement. "Is she your daughter?"

The man snickered. "No. She is… well let's say, very special. Her mission is to infiltrate the school that John attends, and become friends with him. She is to get close to him, and distract him."

"And you're sure this will work?" Keran inquired.

"He has fallen for others. Just not with her." The man pointed out. "But remember something. Sarah Connor, John, and his cyborg are not to be trifled with, Keran. Heed my warning."

"Yes sir." Keran accepted. But she had another question. "If you don't mind me asking. What do I do when they confront me? With what information Hector Fonseca had given them, I'm sure to be their next target."

"Yes, and they will pay you a visit." The man reported. "Tomorrow, Sarah Connor and Derek Reese are likely to confront you. But the machines won't be there. You should be able to hold your own then."

"And what do I do when they come back to make sure I'm dead?" Keran then asked.

"You are enhanced more so than any human being, Keran. You are three times smarter than that of an Oxford professor. You have the strength of a bodybuilder. You have the speed of the most fastest human on the planet. But there is one flaw about you."

"I'm still human." Keran replied blankly. "They can still kill me as easily as they would a normal person."

"Correct." The man agreed. "Do you know why man has thrived over thousands of years?" Before Keran could answer, the man continued. "Man was never designed as a predator. They barely made it for the longest time. If nature had its way, we wouldn't be here today. Not if for the brain. Knowledge has allowed humans to adapt and overcome those who threaten their existence. That evolutionary trait is why we are here today. When we didn't have claws or sharp teeth to defend ourselves, we made weapons. When we got tired of having to hunt for food, we started agricultural practices, and began breeding domesticated animals."

"I'm very well aware of that, sir." Keran nodded.

"Good. Then you know that your brain is your most useful tool. I'm pretty sure you can think of something." He pushed positively. But that positivity soon turned serious, when he spoke again.

"From now on, Emily will live with you. But you are to not have any emotional attachment to her, as she won't to you. You two are to not be seen together as the Connor's may become suspicious if their machines see you two. If you fail me Keran, just remember. As much as I admire your loyalty. You are expendable. Same goes with Emily."

Keran took one last glance at the beautiful young teenager. She had a blank expression, almost as reminiscent to Stone whom was standing outside. Her stiff posture gave that assumption as well.

Keran turned back towards her boss, and stood up. "I agree to your terms, sir. I will be leaving now." With that she left, making sure to grab the young teenager by the wrist and left with her. She was her responsibility now.

The man nodded simply as the door closed. "Good luck."

•••

 **Author's Note: That was a pretty interesting chapter if I have to say so myself. A lot of action occurred, and we got to see Alex go into full killer mode. And at least we know her music taste is somewhat classic.**

 **Before any of you get angry with me, no this isn't a John OC pairing story. Jameron development has been occurring since the beginning of this story, and even though it has hit a speed bump last chapter, it will come full circle sooner than you think. Alex is just there to provide Cameron with a little push. Jealousy is key. Alex and this new character will be big help in an unintentional way.**

 **Although I'm pretty sure John just wanted a peek at what Alex had to offer ;)**

 **I wasn't sure what the cost of artificial intelligence was in 2007, since I was too young to even pay attention to that stuff, nor could I find any solid information on it. So I just made the sum up entirely for this story. I hope it's somewhat on par what it is based on in reality. If you know the exact cost make sure to let me know!**

 **Reviews and constructive criticism is gladly appreciated!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Terminator: No Fate But What We Make**

 **Chapter 19**

 _ **Los Angeles, California, December 6, 2007: (Campo de Cahuenga High School)**_

John had to admit something: school sucked. He wondered why he was so contempt with registering at the beginning of the year. He knew he could be anywhere but here. He could be out on missions with his mother, uncle, and Alex. But no, he was too important. His mother had told him that quite a bit recently. Everytime he tried to tag along, he was immediately shot down by Sarah, and Alex. How was he supposed to become this great leader if he was to always be benched? He couldn't learn this all after Judgement Day, and accept to become the man he was destined to become. He needed to learn, right here, right now.

John slammed his locker shut. _Another day of World History._ _At least it was the only class that didn't have Cameron in it. She always follows me and it's just too weird. Especially with our cover being siblings._

John walked down the large hallway and upstairs to his next class. Luckily it was the class right before lunch, and he was starving. The pancakes his mother made this morning, weren't exactly gourmet. He was surprised that Alex and Derek could eat them as long as they did. They must have stomachs of steel to handle all of those slightly burnt, very bland hotcakes. Derek more so when Alex probably does have one; given her nature after all.

Once climbing the stairs, John was on the second floor, where his history class was located just across the way. He took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for the whole hour and a half of boring lectures, and work he'd be doing. With everything going on, he was stuck in the future, not the past. They say that those who don't learn of the past, are destined to repeat it. Too bad there wasn't an incident involving Abraham Lincoln fighting an Artificial intelligence or something similar to that. Otherwise he wouldn't have this massive chip on his shoulder, and people would think twice about designing such an evil computer system.

Before he entered the classroom, John stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed a small group of guys that were surrounding a very beautiful girl. He brushed it off, considering they were a few of the most popular guys in the entire school, that were just flirting. Jocks that only ever thought with one brain, and it wasn't in their head. But he knew something was wrong when he looked at the girl more closely.

She was very beautiful. Her long dark blonde hair, that cascaded over her shoulders. Her light green eyes. John never seen anything like her before. He was very stunned to say the least.

But what screamed at him, was the fact that she had a very timid posture, and she looked around for any help, not daring to look any of them in the eye. She seemed very shy by the looks of it, and definitely didn't want to talk to these guys. It was simple. She was afraid of them as they both outnumbered her. With no one else in the halls, it made her an easy target.

Not that it was of too much concern. To his knowledge, these jocks wouldn't do anything too extreme, but they still could harass her without the safety of other people being present.

Being the savior he was, John still wanted to aid this poor girl. He knew that drawing attention wasn't a great idea. His mother always told him to not put yourself out there, or you would be an easier target. The more he was known, the easier it would be for a machine to find and kill him. Specifically the one that looked like his own late cousin. But he needed to do something about this. He just couldn't stand by and watch this happen. If he knew anything about these guys, they were always so persistent, and didn't always take no for an answer.

With a split decision made, John bypassed his class, and made a beeline straight for the small group of guys. The girl had her back pressed against the wall and her eyes were wide with fear. She looked helpless.

"Please. Leave me alone." She pleaded to the Jocks with a murmur.

"A beautiful thing like you shouldn't be left alone. Right, guys?" One of the jocks mentioned. The others all snickered in response.

John immediately recognized one of these jocks as Drake Huntington. The star of the school's swim team. He wasn't like the other guys, considering he had a much smaller physique than that of his football player buddies. Although he sometimes had a reputation for being an asshole when he was around his influential friends. He also just so happened to be the very guy who was flirting with Cameron back at Cherie's party a month back. Abiet, Cameron might have ruined his future ability to procreate.

As soon as the thought of Cameron surfaced in his mind, he immediately pushed it back down, and focused on the situation at hand. He looked at the girl and she seemed both frightened and helpless. This is the first time he'd actually be putting himself in a situation that he would have no help with, if things were to get too heavy. Cameron may have stopped him a few times before, but this time she won't be able to.

 _No turning back now,_ John mentally prepared himself.

With determination in his eyes, he marched towards the jocks who were bothering the girl, all while preparing a plan on the fly. The jocks didn't notice him, so John completely took Drake by surprise when he pushed him away from the girl and stood in front of her in a protective manner.

"Stay away, Drake." John warned with a serious expression.

Drake looked very surprised, to say the least. There was no one in the school who dared to stand against him. Even his much larger friends knew he was a good fighter. He looked towards his attacker and immediately recognized him as John Baum.

"Baum, you dare?" One of the other jocks inquired.

"Yes, I dare you assholes. Stay away from her." John warned again. He just hoped that those years of training, that his mother gave him, would finally prove useful.

One jock began to pull up his sleeves preparing to fight this kid. To teach John Baum a lesson. He was always known as the weirdo kid in school who was all mysterious, so he was going to have a good time kicking his ass. But to his surprise however, Drake stopped him by putting a hand over his shoulder.

"Leave it. He's not worth it, and neither is she." Drake explained while looking at the girl with an apologetic expression on his face.

"What? Are you serious?" The other jock asked him in disbelief.

"Yes. Come on, let's go." Drake insisted and dragged his friends away.

Drake said that he didn't give a dime about that blonde girl, but in all actuality, he didn't want to fight because he was still afraid of Cameron. Last time she did a number on him. No girl had ever did something like that to him. Most were afraid, intimated or just too attracted to him to do anything like that. His good looks and constant workout routines had provided him with that respect he wanted.

He wanted to be pissed off about Cameron lowering his reputation in that way, but surprisingly he wasn't mad, or embarrassed for that fact. Instead he had begun to take a liking to her. Maybe he liked a girl who was more dominant than he? Or was it another reason entirely? She had some problems in her, sure, but no one could deny that she was beyond gorgeous. He was now, more than ever, determined to make her his.

John was very astonished to see that Drake was the one to back off for once. He expected to have hit the point of no return upon shoving him away. Instead he had done the complete opposite. Drake Huntington had dragged away his neanderthals that he called friends. Maybe he was wrong about him after all? Or was it just some gimmick to lower his guard?

Either way, he felt proud with himself by scaring off some of the most popular guys in the entire school. No terminator protector was needed after all.

When they were gone, John turned his attention towards the fearful girl who now looked at him as if he was her hero or something akin to that.

"Thank you," She gave him a small smile. Although he did stand up for her, she still seemed rather shy. It was expected since he didn't know her and she didn't know him.

 _Maybe she is new here?_ "You're welcome." John replied with a smile of his own trying to indicate that he doesn't mean her any harm.

"You saved me. If you didn't intervene those boys could have….." She struggled to speak as her eyes misted with unshed tears.

"Hey. It's over. Don't worry about them. They tend to flirt with every pretty girl in the school. But at the end they are harmless," John assured her.

After hearing John's answer the girl smiled at him shyly. "You think I'm pretty?" She asked John.

John's eyes widened. His cheeks turning a shade of red. "Ah- uhhh," he stuttered.

She could see that it was she that was making him uncomfortable, so she decided to change the topic. "So can I get to know the name of my saviour?" She asked with a giggle.

"Uh...Yeah. John... John Baum." John introduced himself while still blushing.

"I'm Emily. Nice to meet you, John." She extended her hand towards him.

John smiled and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you too, Emily." He almost got lost in her light green eyes, before he pulled himself out as the bell rang, signaling the start of class, and him being late. That was just great. Real life always has to interrupt something. "Listen, I would love to talk with you, but actually I am already late for my class. I should go."

John thought that she would be angry but instead she smiled. "Of course, John. I understand." She simply replied. John gave her a small smile and started to walk off. But he had to stop, dead in his tracks upon hearing what Emily said next. "Maybe I will see you later?" She then asked with a glint of hopefulness.

It was such a simple thing to ask, but it had a great impact on him. Those were the same words that Cameron had asked him when he had first met her. When he didn't know what she was. When he actually thought that a beautiful girl actually liked him. But everything fell apart a few moments later. He even started wondering if she was the same as Cameron, but thought against it upon seeing how scared she was when those guys had surrounded her.

John felt tears threatening to fall from his eyes when he felt the ache inside his heart. He had no idea why he felt so sad. It was like opening an old wound. But now was not the time to think about that. He needed to calm himself. He didn't want Emily to see him acting strange.

He quickly rubbed the tears away and turned around to face Emily. "Yeah, sure," he replied with a forced smile.

John watched as Emily gently pushed past him, and walked away, seemingly with more confidence than before. He was lost in his thoughts as he observed her leave. She was beautiful, he had to give her that, and she was very kind, although she had the new shy girl attitude.

But sure enough, John was literally broken from his thoughts as he saw her make a sharp right and entered her class. Well it was also his class since he was heading there next. What a strange stroke of luck. It seems that they had a class together. Maybe he could get a better opportunity to get to know her better?

John chased after Emily and too walked into class a few seconds behind her. Upon entering they were greeted by stares of the teacher and the students. He did his best to ignore him.

"Mr. Baum, you're late." Mrs. Renfro sternly glared at the young leader through her glasses.

"Yeah, sorry. I was ummm…. My locker wouldn't open?" John answered unsure. Definitely didn't have enough time to lie his way out of this one.

"hmm hmm, sure it was." Renfro mused unconvincingly. "Take a seat. I'll just mark you tardy." John sighed in relief. He rarely made it off scott free in this class. Maybe today was turning out to be a good day for him after all?

John made his way to his assigned seat at the end of the class, and fell into it. Mrs. Renfro was an alright teacher in his books. She was strict, but for the most part, very understanding, and at least had a sense of humor. She did have a strict policy on late work however. That was the main reason he was failing the class so far.

He quietly watched as Emily was silently speaking with the teacher for a short moment before Mrs. Renfro turned Emily to face the class. One thing was for sure. Emily was definitely taller than the teacher. He chuckled to himself at that mental remark.

"Everyone, this is Emily. She is from New York. She'll be joining us for the remainder of this year."

 _That explained a lot._ John knew her face wasn't quite familiar. It also explained why she was so scared of Drake and his friends. Now he knew why she was so thankful towards him for stepping up for her in the hall. Maybe she thought that she made a new friend. Not that he minded being her friend. But he was John Connor after all and people getting close to him was a huge gamble on their life.

As everyone greeted Emily and pressed her with tons of questions, John randomly glanced to his far left and noticed someone in particular sitting in the far front row of the class. The stiff posture and the stoic face expression that would carefully scan the room. That long brunette hair, those blank doe brown eyes.

 _Cameron!?_

John was stunned. More so, he was furious. This was the only class he had, that she wasn't in. Now she somehow managed to transfer herself into this one, too. He saw her looking at him with questioning eyes, but in return, he sent her an irritated glare and looked away.

The next thing he knew, he felt a heavy weight on his lap.

The class suddenly started whistling and some were even applauding. In great confusion John looked straight down and found that Emily had fallen on his lap and her arms were woven around his neck. Immediately his face, as well as hers, turned several shades of red.

"Way to go Baum!" One of the students cheered.

"Didn't knew you had it in you!" Some other student snickered.

If it was possible John's face turned redder than a tomato. He looked at Emily who was trying to stand up but seemed having great difficulty. With every student carelessly leaving their bags in the aisle, it was bound to happen to someone.

"I-I'm sorry, I tripped on something. I… I didn't mean to fall on you." Emily apologized frantically. What John found very strange, was that she didn't get up from his lap. She stood still, like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Uhhh….Yeah….I mean, no it's fine." John stammered, still blushing greatly. They practically ignored all of the stares, and the teacher rolling her eyes.

"John, I…" Emily tried to say something. But suddenly, both of them noticed that their faces were very close to each other. Their lips were almost touching. None of them could say anything as they were both transfixed while gazing into each other's eyes.

But both of them broke from their trance at the sound of a loud crunching noise. Upon hearing this, Emily got up from John's lap, and her, along with the whole class stared at the far front left of the classroom, and at the direction of the sound.

Cameron was seen holding a small chunk of wood in her hand. Apparently she had broken the edge of her desk for some odd reason.

The teacher looked at Cameron, appalled at what just happened. She wasn't sure _how_ she did it, but didn't care at the moment. "Ms. Baum, to the office!" Cameron didn't seem fazed, as she just glared at John and Emily with intensity. "Now!" The teacher barked in a much harsher tone, causing the young cyborg to flinch slightly.

Cameron obediently got on her feet and walked out of the classroom. John glared at her, as she left, for ruining the moment with Emily. But it wasn't just messing up a seemingly perfect moment with Emily that pissed him off. It was what she did. It not only confused the hell out of him, but it was a major violation to her orders. She was to not reveal who she really was to anyone. Breaking that desk, the way she did, was bound to arise suspicion, and questions.

One thing was for certain. He would definitely not hear the end of it from his mother. She would most likely blame him or something for what happened. Being blamed was something that has been occurring quite often lately.

•••

Outside, Cameron stormed down the stairwell, and down the hall to the principal's office. She was confused as to what happened. One moment she was watching the new girl: Emily walk down the aisle, to sit to the empty seat behind John. When she tripped, and fell on John, she almost thought that this Emily was secretly a terminator and was closing in for the kill. But it turned out to be an accident. Someone had stupidly left their school bag in the middle. Her not paying attention was what caused her loss of balance.

But that wasn't what caused her arm to twitch. The fact that John was within inches away from Emily's face was the moment when she had assessed her hand had gripped the wooden desk too tightly.

She didn't understand this sudden glitch. Surely she would run a full systems diagnostics later. But now it was time to come with some elaborate lie to retain her cover as Cameron Baum and not a machine from the future.

Once she neared the office, the front clerk had asked her to sit in one of the waiting chairs, to await her turn to speak with the principal.

Cameron was forced to fill out a small form on why she was here, so the principal could determine a practical punishment. The last time she was here, she was forced to help the janitors clean some very detailed drawings of human anatomy in the freshmen boys restrooms. It wasn't the most ideal place to learn about this topic. John was definitely outraged when she had asked him more on it, later that day.

While patiently awaiting her turn, Someone in had stopped right in front of her. "Hey, Cameron! What're you doing here?"

Cameron looked up and identified the individual as Drake Huntington. He appeared to ask in a friendly manner, so she decided to answer. "I'm in trouble." Cameron stoically answered.

"Whoa! Wait a second. What happened?" Drake halted in surprised.

"John got me in trouble." She replied in a flat tone.

"Damn. Guess brothers always have to get on you, huh?" Drake nervously chuckled, and rubbed the back of his neck. "What did he do, if you don't mind me asking?"

Cameron glared at Drake for a long moment, deciding against answering his question. It was going against their cover by telling him this much, and revealing too much about what she really was. She didn't want anyone more angry with her because she had decided to talk to someone about what was on her mind.

"Hey, uhhh... Cameron. If you need a friend, you can talk to me." Drake told her with a sad smile. Cameron opened her mouth to speak, but before any words could come out, the door next to her opened and Principal Rodriguez peeked his head out.

"Come in, Cameron." Rodriguez motioned with his head. Cameron obediently stood up and entered the office. The principal looked at Drake with a stern expression. "Best if you get to class, Drake."

"Yes sir." Drake sarcastically saluted and walked off.

Principal Rodriguez closed the door, and rounded his desk and sat down in his quite comfy office chair. "Please take a seat, Cameron." She did so, and sat down in one of the chairs. She then handed him the small slip of paper, which he took and began to read aloud. "So, you broke a wooden desk in World History…" He looked back up at Cameron with a serious expression. "You know this is bad for you. Right?"

"Yes." Cameron answered flatly.

Rodriguez sighed heavily. "You can't keep doing this, Cameron. Ending up in here isn't doing you any good. This is the fourth time you've been in here this entire semester."

Cameron had no response, as she had gotten slightly distracted and looked down at her arm, and began wiggling her fingers on her lap.

"Cameron!" Rodriguez mildly raised his voice. Cameron's head jolted upwards in response. "Did you hear a word I just said?"

"Yes. You said that this is not good for me, and that I should stop ending up here, and-"

"Okay, I don't need you to repeat it, I just wanted clarification." Rodriguez cut off in an exasperated tone. Cameron nodded once and continued to stare at Principal Rodriguez, as an uncomfortable silence began to loom. Rodriguez coughed and pulled out a file from his desk and opened it. "Cameron, I know it must be tough. Your sister says that you don't have any friends, only your brother."

Cameron looked down and looked at her twitching hand. "Me and him aren't on speaking terms," she said with a hint of sadness.

"Is there anything we can do to help? Anything at all?"

Cameron tilted her head slightly. "What do you mean?"

"I mean is there anyone you can talk to?" Rodriguez continued. "Your mother, your sister? Maybe an acquaintance?"

"They don't understand me," Cameron replied. _They don't like machines._

"Then how about a guidance counselor?" Rodriguez then mentioned.

Cameron stopped to ponder on that suggestion, and assessed the pros and cons to talking to someone. Although a machine, it would prove useful to see what someone thought of all her current non terminator related problems, and maybe find other alternative solutions that she herself couldn't come up with. Ones that were beginning to affect her mission responsibilities.

"Look, I just want to see that you get the help you need, Cameron." Rodriguez explained in a friendly manner. "You see, when I was younger, me and my father… every sunday, we would always watch football together. Order pizza, and just shout at our small TV the entire afternoon. But the thing was, it was only me that he watched it with. As I got older, and I started spending more time with friends, I watched it with him less often. It was then I realized that he was watching it entirely alone. One day I decided to ask him, 'where are your friends, dad?' he told me that he never had any as a kid. Friends were hard to make when he dropped out of school to support his family. When he died, it was only me and my mother at his funeral."

"I don't understand what that story has to do with me?" Cameron tilted her head to the side, as she looked at the principal with perplexity.

"What I'm saying, Cameron, is that friends are important. A connection, a bond that even family can't fill. Someone that will always be there to remember you even when you are gone. Being forgotten is sad and lonely. I just want to see you happy."

Cameron took those words and carefully began analyzing them. She assessed that he wasn't lying at either of those statements. They were genuine and an example that she should follow. She looked at Rodriguez with another question. "Are we friends?"

Rodriguez couldn't help but chuckle. "Yes, we are friends, but that's not what I meant. Look for someone your age to hang out with. I encourage you to at least try."

Cameron smirked and stood up. "Thank you for explaining. I will attempt to make friends." With that, she turned to leave, but was halted once again by Principal Rodriguez' voice.

"We're not done here." Rodriguez said in a stern tone. "You're still in trouble for breaking that desk."

"I thought you wanted me to make friends?" Cameron inquired confusingly.

"Yes, but It's not fair if I don't punish you like everyone else." Rodriguez explained. "Breaking school property results in a hefty fine, and in school suspension for at least three days."

"Do I have to clean the boys bathrooms again?" Cameron then asked, knowing last times punishment for breaking an entire chemistry set on her and John a few weeks back. Luckily she preferred to use safer alternatives to the chemicals that the other peers were working with, otherwise John could have possibly gotten very sick from its exposure.

"No, I'm going easy on you. This time." Rodriguez assured. "But I still have to give your mother a call."

"Oh." Cameron acknowledged blankly. _Sarah isn't going to be happy._

•••

The whole day went on as usual. After a quite calm lunch, and a few kids coming in, after saying they were poisoned by the cafeteria food, the bell rang signaling the end of another day. Alex was relieved that it was almost the weekend. This whole week was hectic. After yesterday's nightclub brawl, she was looking forward to a calm and relaxing two days with nothing better to do besides lazily lay around, eat crappy pancakes and watch any television program that was on.

But she knew that may not be the plan. Knowing Sarah, she would already have a plan or something ready, and end up dragging her along on some mission that will end up being another dead end. She was confused why Sarah stopped bring Cameron along on missions. After the car bomb, it seemed that she was doing her absolute best to ignore the machine.

She was worried about her going bad again. It was obvious. But if so, then why leave it with John? The most important one out of the family was left with a possibly defective machine that was prone to being destructive, and had a not so clean record of trying to terminate her mission.

Alex gathered all of her files that she'd have to go over before tomorrow, and put them in her bag. Nothing too major, just reports on school students that she would need to organize before reporting them into their records. She slung her bag strap over her shoulders and turned off her computer. On her way out of the nurse's office, Alex was stopped by Principal Rodriguez who stood at the doorway, holding an envelope in his hand.

"Hello, Mrs. Baum." Rodriguez greeted. "You're heading home?" He then asked curiously, already knowing the answer. Alex was in fact the _"youngest"_ of the entire school staff, although she was probably older than the lunch ladies themselves.

"Yup, now if you'll excuse me, my brother and sister are probably waiting for me." She informed and tried pushing past the man, only to be stopped once more. _He's very persistent._

"Before you leave, Alex, the yearbook teacher wanted me to give this back to you." Rodriguez handed Alex the envelope, in which she accepted. "I guess it has something to do with your other sister moving to a different school?"

"Oh… yes. She did." Alex forced a smile. _If only that were true…_ "What is it anyway?"

"Just some photos. We were going to transfer them over to her school, but we couldn't find it." Rodriguez explained simply. "Maybe send them over to her the next time you see her?"

"Uhhh, yeah," Alex lied through her teeth. "Sure, I'll send mail them over to her as soon as I get the chance." _Probably have no use to send them since she passed away a month ago._

"Thank you, Alexandra." Principal Rodriguez smiled. With that, he turned and walked away.

With no more distractions, Alex bid farewell, and pushed past the large crowd of socializing teenagers, until she made it to the exit of the front of the school. She strolled her way down the parking lot, and to the SUV, where she patiently waited for John and Cameron.

Not to her surprise, Cameron was the first to arrive. She said nothing and got in the back seat of the vehicle. _Nothing usual there,_ Alex mentally remarked.

But so far, there was no John. He was usually a few feet behind Cameron, or sometimes even a few steps before her. But this time he was nowhere to be seen. Alex started to wonder if the cyborg in the car was responsible for his disappearance. Maybe she defected and killed him or something? Alex looked at Cameron who stared out the front window.

 _God I sure hope not._ _I would definitely be the first to disassemble her._

Before Alex could finish that mental accusation, she saw John exit through the front doors, talking to a beautiful blonde girl. She almost thought it was that other girl: Cherie Westin, but immediately thought otherwise when she took a closer look at her. This girl was much more pretty than her, and her sense of style was much more acute to an actual teenage girl her age.

What was actually different, was that John was actually smiling? That was a first. It's been a while since she had seen him smile like that. After everything that seems to have everyone against each other lately, smiling was very rare in the household. Especially when the occupants were an emotionless cyborg, a hardened future Resistance fighter, and good ol' not so Saint Mary herself: Sarah Connor. That woman had the ability to even make the devil himself want to hide from her.

Alex silently observed as John and this girl conversed for a while, until the girl unexpectedly wrapped her arms around John, forcing him to awkwardly return the gesture. As soon as that was finished, John finally made his way to the car, where he was greeted with Alex glaring at him with a smirk on her face, and her arms crossed.

"Who is your new girlfriend?" She asked teasingly.

John slightly blushed but kept a neutral expression. "She is not my girlfriend, and her name is Emily."

"Well she's pretty cute, I'll give her that." Alex chuckled. Alex took one more look at the petite girl, leave in a quite fancy looking black SUV that made theirs look like it came from a dump. "I've never seen her before."

"She's new here, that's why…" John explained simply. He then took one small glance at Cameron who was glaring daggers at him through the side view mirror. This was the first time he's seen her since that class. Even during lunch she was nowhere to be seen. "She's also the reason why Cameron was almost caught today."

"Ahhh..." Alex nodded in acceptance. She too gave a small look at Cameron. "So that's what happened."

"Anyway, let's get home so mom can yell at me for Cameron's mistakes, again." John sighed heavily. He definitely wasn't looking forward to another fight with his mother.

"The full wrath of Sarah Connor will probably be waiting for the both of us." Alex agreed. With that, they both hopped in the vehicle, with Alex getting in the driver's seat, and John in the passenger seat, in front of Cameron.

Alex turned on the ignition, and they all left campus. John stared out the window, completely engrossed in his own thoughts. For the first time in a long time, they weren't about Cameron, and the future. For once they were about something completely different. Emily was very pleasant company, he had to say. After they both got warmed up with each other, during an uninterrupted lunch, she was actually very sweet, and funny.

He was most certainly looking forward to what tomorrow held for he and this beautiful new girl.

 _ **Los Angeles, California, December 6, 2007: (Eagle Rock Boulevard)**_

Both Sarah Connor, and Derek Reese were scouting a very familiar location that they once visited before. An animal hospital. The two sat in their newly acquired Dodge Ram, and were scoping the area out. Like before, it seemed quiet. Nothing aside from owners bringing their pets into the clinic for a checkup, before leaving half an hour later.

All seemed ordinary. It was just a simple Thursday afternoon. People walking about, minding their own business, and accomplishing their personal tasks. Sarah sometimes longed for the simplicity of having an ordinary life. Never having to worry about machines or Judgement Day. Just being normal would be something she wouldn't mind. Giving her son that kind of life.

But that was the thing. They say ignorance is bliss, but is it really? Is it better to just ignore the reality? Sometimes, she would stop to ask herself that.

In boredom, Sarah pulled out her phone and opened it. She looked at the time and was certainly surprised to find out how long they were sitting in the truck for. "It's already 3:30," she informed Derek. "John is already heading home."

"Then let's hurry this up." Derek suggested from the driver's seat. "We've watched this place like a hawk for hours, already. There is nothing to fear-"

"Well I just want to be sure, okay!?" Sarah inquired in frustration. She angrily closed the flip phone and continued to stare out the window. "Last time we were here, our last safe house was somehow compromised. I want to be sure that we aren't being watched before we go in."

"Fine," Derek rolled his eyes, but agreed nonetheless. Although he might hate the idea of having to wait even longer than necessary, Sarah had a point. It's better to be sure, than to go in with no knowledge of what can happen. If spending most of his life fighting machines taught him anything, it was that it was better to caution restraint. It's better to live to fight another day than to die out of impatience and stupidity.

The two sat for another few more minutes, with Derek continuing to scope out the street, while Sarah began loading a fresh clip into her handgun.

"Okay, let's get this over with." Sarah finally gave the signal. Derek sighed in relief, muttering a few words to himself. Sarah looked at him, trying to understand what he had said, but decided that it was best to just ignore it and focus on the mission.

The two piled out of the truck, and made their way inside the pet clinic. Luckily, when they entered, it was mostly empty, and the only person in the waiting room, was an old lady holding a very large tabby feline on her lap, that immediately hissed at Derek upon looking up at him.

At the desk, Sarah could tell that it was the same lady that from last time, working at the front registration counter.

The woman looked up from her magazine, and immediately recognized Sarah approaching. The woman just shrugged and didn't bother saying anything as Sarah and Derek walked into the back. She knew it was hopeless to even attempt to stop them.

Derek followed Sarah closely, as the two marched down the long hallway, with Derek occasionally peeking inside any of the open rooms, just to satisfy his paranoia that nobody was waiting to snuff him. The two eventually made it to the end of the hall, where Sarah showed Derek, where Keran's office was located. They entered the office door wide open, and finding it completely empty.

"Uhhh… so. Where did she go?" Derek scratched his head in confusion. They observed the area the entire day and saw her enter and never leave the building. _Maybe she left through the back entrance?_

"I'm not sure, but she is here somewhere." Sarah admitted. "Maybe check the other rooms?" She then suggested.

Derek nodded in agreement, and the two made their way to the door. They were about to leave until someone walked in, only to stop at the doorway. Sarah recognized who it was. Those light green eyes and long black hair.

"Keran." Sarah gritted her teeth.

"S-Sarah… I'm surprised to see you again." Keran muttered in speechlessness. "What brings you here?"

"Cut the shit, Keran!" Sarah snapped, and rested her hand on the gun tucked in her jeans. "I want to know the truth! Why your name was brought up by a club owner who has ties to the Armenian gang that _you_ were held captive by, and why he said you were forcing payment!"

Keran's expression turned from that of confusion, and innocence; to an instant frown. She closed the door behind her, not taking her eyes off of Sarah and Derek. Both weren't surprised to say the least. They expected her to play a game like all other times before that, but they did not think that she'd give up this easily.

"Oh, Sarah, you aren't the sharpest tool in the shed it seems." Keran snickered uncontrollably. Before Sarah could reply, Keran beat her to the punch. "There is no use in lying any further, so why should I keep up a charade that no longer has any effect?"

"Then start talking, now!" Sarah highly recommended in a threatening tone.

"What do you want to know?" Kean asked with a smirk.

Sarah could've sworn she detected a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "Where is the Turk." She then asked, gritting her teeth in frustration.

"Oh? That thing?" Keran inquired confusingly. "I wouldn't know since I have never even seen it before. But last I heard, it was sold to the highest paying customer."

"Who did you sell the damn machine to?" Derek demanded in an exasperated tone. This woman was playing games and quite frankly, he didn't want to participate in any of them.

" _That_ is out of my jurisdiction," Keran lied. "It was Sarkissian that sold the chess computer. The funny thing is, he turned up dead not too long afterwards," she then replied with a shrug. "Guess we'll never know, since you decided to kill him."

Sarah was taken aback by this. "How do you know anything about that?"

Keran rubbed her chin, as she pondered on Sarah's question. "It could be that you were here prior to trying to find him."

"No, I want to know specifics!" Sarah snarled. "I want to know how exactly they were able to find us! Someone important to us died because of it!"

"Was it that cute blonde you brought in here last time?" Keran inquired curiously. She wasn't aware of any deaths on their side, but it was quite satisfying to find out that they had something coming to them. Their faces surely showed that she was indeed right about that inquiry. "Well I didn't know Sarkissian would be that brutal if I'm being completely honest. I was just told to put a tracker on you."

"You did what?!" Sarah asked outraged both at Keran and herself.

Before Sarah, or even Keran could process another single thought, Derek pushed past Sarah, and shoved Keran against the closed door. He angrily shoved his gun right over Keran's forehead. "Give me a fucking reason that I shouldn't blow your fucking brain out right now." Derek hissed in anger.

But Keran didn't seem fazed by Derek's threat. She just smiled carelessly. "You don't get it do you? Killing me won't solve anything. I am just a pawn. You cannot stop what is coming. No matter how hard you try."

"What does that mean?" Sarah asked.

"I don't know. I told you I am just a pawn." Keran said.

"Then you are of no use to us." Derek simply stated. He pulled the hammer back with his thumb, and began to apply very little pressure to the trigger.

Out of the corner of Sarah's eye, she glanced behind Keran, and out the glass window, where she was greeted with a large figure stalking it's way down the hallway. She recognized what it was immediately. The stiff posture, the Austrian bodybuilder physique. It was a T-800. What was different was that this one wore a business suit? That was a first.

But now was not the time for trying to fathom the possible choices a machine would choose for attire. As much as she wanted to believe that this was another machine sent by John, she wasn't willing to take the possible risk of being recognized, captured, and possibly killed.

"Reese, we need to leave!" Sarah pressed the future soldier.

"Not till I'm done with this bitch!" Derek sneered. If what she said was true, and she did indeed place a tracker on them, then it was her who was responsible for Chloe's death. His daughter was dead because of this lying woman. He tried with all of his might to pull the trigger, knowing that he so easily could. But he couldn't. Was it mentally? Keran put a tracker on them somehow. His daughter was dead because of it. So why was it so hard to just pull the trigger and be rid of her forever?

"No, Derek, we _need_ to leave!" Sarah persisted, making sure to put a big empathise on the word need. Derek reluctantly looked out of the corner of his eye and too noticed the approaching machine. He recognized what it was. Although they were inferior to current models, they were still strong and resilient mounds of scrap. They lacked the arms, and means to destroy a machine right now. Without one of their own, it would be suicidal to even attempt to hold their ground.

Derek lowered the weapon from Keran's head, and the two made their way behind her desk, where Sarah began to pry open the window as a quick exit; alll while mentally berating herself for not studying the building's interior before entering.

"I'd hurry if I were you." Keran mockingly encouraged from the door. Just then, the large machine walked in just in time to see the two fleeing through the shattered window.

"Should I chase them?" The T-800 asked Keran.

Keran pondered for a brief moment before shaking her head. "No. Leave them. We will deal with them in time."

"Affirmative." The machine acknowledged. "I will go drop Emily off at the designated safehouse." He then informed. With that, he left through the way he came, leaving Keran to gaze out the broken window, deep in thought. It was possible that she could have been killed here today. She needed to be more cautious next time. Playing this carelessness charade wasn't the best idea. She was just lucky that Stone was there just in time to stop it all.

She had a mission and she could not afford to fail.

•••

 **Author's Note: This was a much shorter chapter than the last, but we will continue on where we left off in the next.**

 **To answer a few questions, we will touch more upon that small scene set eight months in the future, more as the story progresses. The reason for Cameron acting more human lately, is due to the car bomb. This is the first of many glitches that will begin to manifest themselves into full emotions, so at the moment she is only feeling anger, and jealousy when she sees John flirting with Emily.**

 **Reviews and constructive criticism are gladly appreciated!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Before the chapter starts, I just want to apologize for the long wait on this update. I have been going through a lot these past few weeks and haven't had a whole lot of time to write this. This chapter is probably the longest out of the whole story, so I really hope you enjoy!**

 **Terminator: No Fate But What We Make**

 **Chapter 20**

It was a quiet Saturday afternoon in the city of Los Angeles. Some people were out, enjoying their weekend, hanging out with friends and family; while others were busy with other business. Either working straight through the week, or just taking care of a few errands. Nothing seemed like it was going to be out of the ordinary. That is, except for the small raven haired girl, chasing a larger male teenager down the street, with murder in her eyes.

Definitely not the sight that one would expect on a simple weekend.

The raven haired female pursued her target with intensity as she sprinted at him. He was heavily fatigued, while she was not. It was inevitable that he'd die, so why keep resisting? It would just be easier if he'd let her finish her mission. Soon he'd have to stop and take a breather. That is when she will strike.

The female chased her target until he had made a sudden turn through a clothing store that was packed to the brim with people. She immediately lost her target, but she knew that he wasn't far. She'd search for him, and look for anything out of the ordinary.

She did just that. She meticulously studied each occupants face, trying to match the identity of her target. But none came up. They were all just innocent bystanders shopping for clothes like any normal human. She wouldn't give up just yet, but she needed a change in tactics. It would be wise for her target to stay in the vicinity, with a crowd to hide in. But then again, if her target were to plan an escape, he'd look for an alternative exit.

She pushed past the entirety of people and maneuvered around the aisles of clothes until she came to the back emergency exit. As she was about to open it and rush outside, she heard footsteps from behind. She turned around to see someone disguised in a grey hoodie, with hat and sunglasses trying to casually walk away.

She stalked up to the person and whirled them around. But it wasn't who she expected. It was another male that was of similar build to her target. But the difference was, that this person had blue eyes and black hair, whereas her target had green eyes and light brown hair. She eyed the man who looked at her with fear and confusion, as he was being held by this girl with an expression reminiscent to a dead cat.

She heard a loud blare come out of nowhere, and looked up, noticing white flashing lights, as the deafening alarm had rang throughout the store.

She turned to glance at the back emergency exit and found it in the process of closing. Her eyes flashed red, and she bolted to through the door, where she was now in the alleyway. There, she saw her target fleeing. She gave chase to her target, running even faster than he.

Soon she caught up with him, and she used her own body to shove him to the ground. After falling, she was the first to recover, where she crawled up to her target and stood.

Her arm turned into a silvery mass, and retreated, where the metal underneath had started to twist and turn into another shape, with sparks, and smoke trailing from it. The weapon began to heat up, and she took aim at the teenage boy.

 ** _22 Hours Earlier - Los Angeles, California, December 7, 2007_**

 ** _3:30 pm_**

After yet another difficult, and stressful week, it was finally the weekend. Two days of no school and just relaxing. Abiet that he probably wouldn't get the privacy and peace he so desperately wanted. But hey, someone can dream, can't they?

John locked his textbooks away in his locker, not wanting to even look at them for the next few days. He wanted it to be as peaceful as he could get. However Cameron may see to it that he is continuously harassed. She never seemed to let up when it came to leaving him alone and he was beginning to get tired of it. She always insisted that she always be near, for if the Terminatrix ever found him, she could protect him. But he barely saw the need for it when he was home. No one knew where they lived, and he was only ever allowed to two places at a time. Home and school. There was no in between. He was practically locked in a cage and he wanted more freedom. More of a chance to be normal, like other people his age.

John made his way to down the hall and out of the school just as soon as it cleared. At the front of the school he saw Alex waiting for him like always, while Cameron already sat in the vehicle. It became routine really. He took a deep breath, and took a step forward, and began walking to the SUV.

Before he could get very far, he was stopped when someone tapped his shoulder. He stopped and turned around, where he saw an all new, too familiar face looking at him with red cheeks and a full smile.

"Hi, John." Emily greeted with a giggle. "Are you heading home already?"

"Yeah, that's where I always go after school." John sarcastically quipped, unable to suppress a smile. "My mom is strict like that," he then added to counter his sarcasm. He wanted to make sure Emily didn't take it the wrong way. They were fairly new friends, and he didn't want her to get the wrong idea about him. He didn't want to be known as a jerk.

"I completely understand." Emily nodded in acceptance. "My mother is also the same way."

"Guess we have something in common then," John mumbled to himself. "Anyway, I better get going," he then informed. "I'll see you on monday."

He turned to leave again, but was stopped once more when he felt something take hold of his hand.

"John, wait!" Emily blurted suddenly, unable to stop blushing. "Er- I mean… can I have your phone number? So maybe we can talk or something?" She pulled out her small red flip phone from her coat pocket and held it, as she looked up at him with an hopeful smile.

He knew that giving his phone number away was a bad idea. His mother specifically told him to never do that, because numbers can be traced, via GPS. His phone was only a tool to use if he needed to call for help. Even then he had to be cautious who called him, hence the code his mother put into motion.

But then again, he didn't want to say no to Emily, and he couldn't just give her a fake phone number. If she was asking, then surely she'd plan on calling him. "Yeah, sure," he accepted and took her phone. John noticed that her small smirk turned into a full blown smile. He punched his numbers underneath a new contact number and handed it back to her. "This is gonna sound really weird, but whenever you call me, the first words out of your mouth need to be the date. Day first, then the month, okay?"

"That's strange… may I ask why?" Emily asked confusingly, looking down at her phone.

"It's just the way it's going to be if you're gonna call me." John simply answered sadly. "It's strange, I know, but I really don't know how to explain it to you without sounding like a nutjob."

She saw that he even put his own name under his phone number. "That's fine, I guess. Thank you."

Again, she wrapped her small arms around John and hugged him tightly. Although John actually liked her hugging nature, he still couldn't help but feel uncomfortable with such a gesture. It's not that he's not used to affection, it's just that it was coming from a total stranger that he barely knew anything about. All he knew was that she wasn't a machine. Even Cameron stated that she didn't detect a metal endoskeleton underneath. She was human. That was a relief because otherwise, he'd probably be crushed like a soda can.

Due to that statement, coming from a cyborg herself, he concluded that at least he could trust her. She was just a new girl from New York that wanted a new friend, and he just so happened to be the first person she bumped into.

"Bye, John!" Emily shouted from a few feet away. John broke from his thoughts when he saw Emily get into the luxurious black SUV before it drove away. John waved goodbye as the vehicle sped off.

Her parents probably had some money as well, if they had a vehicle such as that. Their SUV was an unused stunt vehicle, that a car salesman sold Alex, that could blow up if it were to exceed a certain speed limit. He wasn't even sure if Derek ever got around to fixing that bug like he said he would. He just hoped that they never got into a car chase. Otherwise he feared they would be the forefront of one of those Michael Bay films that came out recently.

Again, John had to brush off these thoughts. He was now one of the only ones standing at the front of the school like an idiot, while Alex looked like she was about to fall asleep while standing. He rushed back their car, just in time to see Alex's head Bob backwards before she quickly regained consciousness and straightened it back into position.

"There you are!" Alex groggily exclaimed. "You like flirting with that girl, don't you?"

John didn't respond to that sarcastic question, and decided to redirect the subject. "You look really tired. Maybe I should drive?"

Alex tossed him the keys. "Knock yourself out." she tiredly said and walked to the passenger seat. John smiled to himself as he got into the driver's seat. He was glad to find that the SUV was an automatic. He still needed a ton of lessons if he was going to be able to drive Derek's new truck.

As they drove along the road, heading back home, he noticed that Alex had fallen asleep immediately. He chuckled to himself that she'd be so eager to let him drive. It must've been one hell of a day for her.

It was silent for most of the drive. In the rear view mirror, John noticed Cameron still doing her thousand yard stare as she looked out the window at cars passing by. There was nothing unusual there. He was just glad that she wasn't berating him with questions about school, and how to better blend into human crowds. Better yet, she wasn't asking him about Emily. After yesterday's incident, he was half expecting her to be inquiring about the new sweet girl nonstop. But she didn't. She didn't even make attempts to really talk to him lately, unless he was the first to speak.

"John?" Cameron then suddenly inquired quietly.

 _Dammit… had to jinx it, didn't you?_ "What?"

"I am missing an assignment in World History. Do you know what it is?" She asked.

John huffed, thinking that she would ask him something completely different. Was he hoping that she'd ask him something personal or about his life? Maybe something she didn't understand? "Maybe you wouldn't be missing the assignment if you didn't decide to tear a chunk out of your desk. Did that ever occur to you?"

Cameron didn't respond and instead looked at him. Not with anger, or annoyance, but just blankness. That's what he thought. Now matter how many times she could _"show emotions,"_ he knew that it wasn't real. It was just like his mother said from day one.

 _They can't feel love, they can't show fear. They are machines, John._

Luckily as this small conversation had wrapped up, home was just right around the corner. _Finally, a reason to not be stuck in a car with her._

John pulled into the driveway, parking right next to Derek's truck, before turning off the engine. With the truck still being present, that meant that his mother was home, and so was Derek. For the first time maybe he was actually sober and not fighting a hangover? Guess he just had to find out.

As everyone exited the vehicle, they all went inside and placed their things near the door. "Mom, we're home!" John loudly announced. Surprisingly there was no answer. Usually his mother was the first to greet them.

Derek walked into the living room, having coming from the kitchen. "Your mother is in the backyard," he told the trio. "What happened yesterday has her all stressed out."

"Is she punching the swing set again? I bought her that punching bag for a reason!" Alex groaned tiredly, and made a straight beeline for the backyard.

Not wanting to stick around longer than she had to, Cameron pushed past the other two, and went upstairs to her room. That left John and Derek.

"So… the metal still has its screws attached?" Derek scratched his head, as the two watched her disappear upstairs.

"If you're implying has she gone bad again, then no. She has been acting strange though." John simply mentioned.

"Well just be on your toes. You let your guard down at the wrong moment, and she would probably kill you, given the chance." Derek suggested calmly.

"She's not gonna go bad again, Derek." John denied with him shaking his head.

"I've seen machines go bad, John." Derek pressed further. "When they do, it's like they put on this charade- this gimmick, like they are all fine and dandy, until they unexpectedly go haywire and kill an entire base's man, woman, and child."

John didn't want to continue this argument further. He knew it was no use trying to convince Derek to like Cameron, or even at least to tolerate her existence. He had seen far too much in the future. All the loss, death, and destruction that Skynet had brought onto humanity. He unfortunately got to see it all.

"You know what, it's been a long day, so I'm gonna go get my homework done, and get some rest." John yawned. Derek waved John off, and went for the couch to watch television.

John took that as his cue to now leave, and made his way upstairs, passing Cameron, who was decedending down to start her hourly patrol. She shedded her school attire for a more simple black cargo pants, and black tank top, which definitely proved his small assumption.

Once he was inside his room, John immediately fell on his bed, where he relished in its comfort. He stared up at the ceiling, looking at the plastered glow in the dark stars, that were hiding from the daylight creeping in through his window.

It was finally the weekend, and he wasn't even sure how the hell he would begin to spend it. It was December, which meant it was winter. But thanks to their current location, there would be no snow like everywhere else. The worse it ever got, was a slight chill that would only last until the scorching sun would bring everything back to its glorious California heat. No snow meant no building snowmen, having snowball fights, and just overall having fun like a normal kid.

Actually when he thought about what usually lived in the next room, he knew it would never be normal. Unless Terminators were replacement siblings, he was the only person to have cyborg protectors. Now that he thought about it more in depth, why do Terminators call themselves cyborgs? In some of the movies, and comic books, people only refer to cyborgs needing to rely on both their organics and mechanical parts. If anything, Alex was a true cyborg, while Cameron was more or less considered a killer robot, or an android.

 _Guess Skynet doesn't know how to differentiate the two,_ John mentally chuckled at that remark.

But no, he needed to stop daydreaming like this. At this point he would begin to question things about Alex and Cameron that were best left untouched upon.

Now just feeling really bored, John sat up and looked around his very childish room. He hated to have the shittiest room in the entire house. The bed was uncomfortably small, he would definitely see to it about getting a much larger one. The closet was more littered with kid toys rather than clothes. And to top everything off, the walls were covered in sailboat wallpaper. It became an eyesore.

Maybe that's what he should do? Remodel this room to meet the future leader's standards of living. Give it a more masculine feel to it, instead of a young helpless boy. John started to wonder what Alex was up to. Hopefully she wouldn't be too busy and maybe she can pitch in on this little project idea of his? It wouldn't hurt to ask.

Now feeling very eager to hear Alex's response, John left his room, and into the hall where he walked to the adjoining room. He wasn't sure that going through the bathroom would be very modest, so be opted for the old fashioned _"knock on their bedroom door and ask if they could come in,"_ gimmick that he would normally do.

 _*Knock, Knock, knock, knock*_

John patiently waited for an answer. But there wasn't one. He knocked once more, but again, no one answered. John turned the knob, and slightly pushed the door open. He found the room to be dark and empty, aside from Cameron's school bag being left on the neatly made bed. Definitely a stark comparison between the two. Alex's was usually as messy as his, while Cameron was a clean freak almost.

But other than that fact being proven, there was no-one in the bedroom. Cameron wasn't in the room. She had left almost immediately to go patrolling. Then it hit him. Alex was probably still outside talking to his mother. When they arrived home from school, that was the first place she went.

Before John fully closed the door shut, he noticed a faint glimmer shine off of Alex's bed. He knew that invading her privacy was definitely creepy and perverted, but he was now curious. Most of her bed was littered with paper, so what was the worst it could be? Now he just hoped that he wouldn't have to eat those words.

As he walked deeper into the room, and closer to the bed, the glimmer sooned revealed itself to be the small bronze clipping of a yellow envelope. John picked up the envelope, and opened it, expecting it just to be some school work that she would have to file. But when he took out the envelope contents, he was immediately baffled. They were photos. Not ones that he was somehow expecting from his young male teenage mind. They were instead of a beautiful young girl with a full smile.

 _Chloe?_

He was stunned. But it was in a good way. They were unused yearbook photos of his cousin. In fact, they were the only photos ever taken of her. It was someone who he dearly missed over this past month. Right now she would have been the only person he could have told his problems to, and not be entirely judged.

John found about four photos ranging from small wallet sized ones, to large ones that could be put up in a picture frame. Too bad they could never put up family photos for obvious reasons. He was delighted to have something other than a hoodie and a pocket knife to remember his cousin by. But he knew that keeping these was not for him to decide, and neither should Alex. He knew what he needed to do.

John set the envelope down. and took the photos back to his room. He dropped the large ones off, and took the smallest one, out of the whole stack. He made his way back downstairs, and immediately saw Derek relaxing on the sofa, half paying attention to the television.

John sat down next to the soldier and watched what he was watching. It was some old western by the looks of it. They were the classics, with all it's simple violence. Nowadays, movies featured everything with blood, and outrageous explosions. But these old shows always just loved the old time saloon gunfights, and snippy cowboys that were out to either wreak havoc or save the wild west.

He watched along with Derek for a while, waiting for the time to be right.

Once the episode was over, John grabbed the television remote and turned it off. Derek immediately reacted, and reached for the remote, only to have it snatched away by John.

"What the hell, John?" He demanded. He was a little more cautious since the last time he fought over the remote, he almost went through the ceiling.

"I need to talk to about something." John calmly began. Derek rolled his eyes, but gave John his full undivided attention. He wasn't sure how to start this whole conversation, but decided to say the first sentence starter that popped in his mind. "What can you tell me about Chloe?"

Derek's face turned into a frown at the mention of that name. "John… let's not do this."

"Yes, Derek, _we need to do this_." John insisted. This was still a sore spot for Derek, only considering it was only a month ago when it all happened. "I just want to know more about her."

"Why do you want to know about her so bad?" Derek inquired with annoyance.

Wishing he could say, he knew he couldn't. Not now, not ever. "She was my…. Friend. I miss her, and I just want to know what I never got to find out about her, through her."

"Look, John, let's talk about this some other time-"

"Please…" John pressed further.

Derek saw the look on his face. It was smouldering look he definitely remembered his future General when he put his mind to something. There was no stopping General John Connor when his mind was made up. "What do you want to know?"

John smirked. "I don't know. How about start with something that not all of us would no except you?"

"Well." Derek rubbed his hands together, deep in thought. Something that not everyone knew about his daughter. The biggest secret being the fact that she was copied onto a machine. "Well she was born midway through J-Day. She always had a natural act for breaking things, and putting them back together. Sometimes in better shape than before."

"What else?" John then asked curiously.

"Despite her being quite snippy, and sarcastic… she was actually considered one of the sweetest girls in the entire Resistance. You'd be lucky to get to talk to her."

Both John and Derek chuckled. "I'd hate to see what the toughest girls were like."

"Right now… you'd probably be crushed like a toothpick." Derek added. "But almost every one of them had a major crush on your future self. He was tougher than nuclear nails."

John looked towards the back door, where he saw Sarah yelling at Alex for some unknown reason. "That's what they say about my mother."

"Guess it's definitely inherent, then."

"What was the first thing Chloe did when you took her here?" John then asked.

"Now that's a great story. On our first day, we ate at McDonald's. it was hilarious watching her indulge in all the present food. Chloe ate so much, she ended up vomiting all over the the floor. Then some poor bastard had to run by and slip on it."

John couldn't help but burst out into laughter. "What happened after?"

"We didn't wanna pay no health insurance. We dipped immediately." Derek chuckled.

"And what about her mom? What can you tell me about her?" John then asked. He always wondered who she got her blonde hair from, considering that his and everyone else's hair, that was related to him, was more of a brown color.

Derek small grin turned back to neutral as he just shook his head in a reserved fashion. "There are lots of things I will tell you about Chloe, but her mother is something I won't discuss."

"I see," John sadly accepted. It was an answer he wasn't satisfied with, but he wasn't going to push it further if that was something that Derek didn't want to talk about. Something tragic probably happened, or she did something horrible. Either way, he'd probably never know.

"Why so interested in Chloe all of a sudden?" Derek then suddenly asked John with curiosity. A little irritation started to form in the tone of his voice, that John immediately noticed. "You go an entire month without talking to anyone about what happened, and you suddenly just come out with wanting to know more about her. Why?"

Well, he was waiting for a more opportune moment, but if he wanted to keep this conversation from going sour, then he needed to do something. John pulled out the small photo from his hoodie pocket, and slowly handed it to Derek.

Derek took the small photograph, and looked more closely at it. John silently watched as his eyes became glossy, and his mouth quavered. Never had John actually seen the hardened soldier cry himself. Alex had told him how devastated he was when they found Chloe in the burning house. But to see it himself…. Tears began to threaten their way out of his eyes too.

"Where did you get this?" Derek choked out, not taking his eyes off of the photograph of his beautiful daughter.

John opened his mouth to speak, but immediately closed it. Telling him that they were unused photos from the school yearbook wouldn't be the best thing to say. The reason why he got those photos was because of what happened. "That doesn't matter right now."

Derek continued to gaze at the photograph in his hand. A mixed feeling of happiness, sorrow, and loneliness he felt all at once by looking at his daughter. A smile that almost made his heart melt. He never truly saw her smile, until the day they came back into the past. When she saw everything for what it once was. When she ate her first hot dog at the park, and pointing out the fact that it doesn't taste like actual dog. Those moments he really wished he had more time to do with her. Be an actual father instead of a soldier on a mission. Sometimes it was okay to just give a day to be human. To be somewhat normal. Chloe, and John made him realize that.

"Mom told me about Keran." John mentioned. "She told me that you hesitated to kill her. I may not know Chloe as well as you did, but I personally think that she would have been proud of you for not pulling that trigger."

"Thank you for this, John." Derek smiled with gratefulness. He pulled out his wallet, and placed the photo perfectly into an open slot, before putting it away. Derek wiped a stray tear from his eye, and stood up. "Come on," he then waved as he made his way to the front door to retrieve a set of keys.

"Where are we going?" John asked with utmost confusion.

Derek couldn't help but smirk. "Somewhere I should've taken you a month ago."

•••

After a short drive, Derek had brought John to a nearby park that was only located six miles from their new safehouse. It was very lively, especially during this time of day. People picnicking under the trees, and kids running around screaming in laughter. It was overall a normal park, so John wasn't sure what was so special about the place.

John followed Derek down the grassy field, until they came across a small food truck. "Hello, what may I get you two gentlemen?" an elderly man inquired as the two strolled up.

"Two hotdogs, please." Derek simply answered, and place down a five dollar bill. The man took the bill, and returned a short moment later with two hotdogs wrapped in foil, and Derek's change. The two took the meal, and continued to walk down the park in silence, as they watch all of the children playing. There was no denying it's sight. It wasn't too hot out, neither was it too cold. It was a perfect afternoon to be out and about.

"So…. I've been meaning to ask. How does having a Terminator version of Chloe make you feel?" John asked out of the blue.

Derek took a bite of his hotdog, pondering on the question for a long moment. Once he was done chewing, he had an answer for John. "It just gives me more motivation to kill it. All it is, is a machine."

"You know… I never knew it was possible for Chloe to pull off looking like a substitute teacher before I met her." John chuckled.

"What do you mean?" Derek asked with confusion, and took a bite into his hotdog.

"Back when I first encountered her- it, posed as a substitute teacher in my chemistry class. She pulled off the look quite well." John explained, all while remembering the day that he realized his whole destiny was never truly over with. When his cousin's metal doppelganger had almost succeeded in killing him right then and there. If it wasn't for Cameron and Alex, he wasn't sure what would've happened. Death most likely. That's what a Terminator's mission always was.

Guess it had to have been makeup, because he knew that she did seem a bit too young for a substitute. But he didn't even think about questioning it at all, until it was too late.

After much walking around the park, the two took a seat at a bench, that overlooked the whole area. Many people were sitting in the grass, while two young kids were playing a small game of baseball. "It's beautiful here, isn't it?" John simply nodded and took another bite of his hotdog. "You know, you stay long enough, you start fooling yourself into thinking that this is... how it's always gonna be. And you remember what this place'll look like when it's on fire, and... you realize you'll do whatever it takes to keep from watching it burn again."

Taking those words into account and envisioning this place gone and filled with nothing but rubble, and skulls, was almost enough to make his shiver. Those nightmares that his mother constantly reminded him of every waking day as a child. "I really hope we can stop it." John sadly muttered.

"Chloe once asked me that. If we can ever stop it."

John glanced over at Derek. "And what did you say?"

Derek shrugged. "I told her the truth. We were gonna have to die... before we let that happen."

John took those words into account while finishing his hotdog. Even for someone who has been through as much as him, Derek seemed more optimistic right now- in times where some may not feel that way. He told his daughter that he'd stop it, and that they would be normal. Without her, it was gonna be hard for Derek to continue on. But who knows, maybe he will.

John was interrupted from his thoughts upon a small baseball stopping at his feet. When he looked up, he saw a little kid running up to him. He wanted the ball back. John grabbed the small ball, and walked up a few feet, and kneeled down, where he extended his hand out with the ball. The kid stopped a few feet from him, and stared at him, for what seemed like a minute, before smiling and taking the ball from John's hand, and running back to the other older kid.

That was his good deed for today. Helping a little child get his ball back. John stood up, still eying the two beginning to play once more. They inevitably switched sides, with the older kid taking the baseball glove, while the small child took the bat. When John looked at the older kid's shirt, it was a little league baseball jersey that read: Reese, in bold letters.

John looked at the older kid in amazement, then looked back at Derek who had one of the biggest smiles on his face. "Is- is that... you?" No words were needed to come from Derek, as his expression said it all. He then looked at the other small child, and wondered who he was. He had a general idea of who _he_ was. "And the younger one. Is that…"

"Kyle." Derek simply clarified. "Throws pretty good for a five-year-old, huh?" John didn't even answer, as he was lost looking at his father for the first time ever. He couldn't believe it! It was actually him! He was a child, six at most. But that didn't matter, this was his father, right here, right now. "Your father always had a nice arm."

John jolted his head to look at Derek with absolute shock, having been immediately taken aback upon hearing this revelation. He didn't say anything, he knew better not to. His mother always drilled into him to never tell anyone who his father truly was. He couldn't even tell Chloe. "How'd you know?"

"Every time I look at you, I see him." Derek explained. "Besides, your mom is his type."

John looked back at his young uncle and father play baseball for what seemed like forever. He had to fight the urge to go over there and talk to him, get to know him. But he knew he never could, not at this point in time at least. This Kyle was young, innocent, and had so many dreams. He was opposite of the man his mother told him about, because this version hasn't seen the horrors of what possibly lied in his future. Who he'd inevitably be.

Derek stood up, and walked over to John, placing his hand on his shoulder. "I planned on bringing you and Chloe here, before…. Before everything happened. I wanted her to know. To get to see her uncle, and learn that she had other family than me."

"Thank you for this, Derek." John sniffled, and wiped a stray tear away.

"This may seem a bit too late, but happy birthday, John."

The two continued to watch the kids play for another hour, until the sun began to become dim in the sky, and the younger Reese brothers had left for home. That meant it was time for them to be getting back home, too.

As they drove, John couldn't help but feel somewhat happy with how the last two days were turning out. For what he lost, in people he cared about, and trust; he gained in meeting a sweet beautiful girl, and getting to see his father for the first time ever. Things would never be like they used to, and today was a prime example that maybe it was for the best.

 ** _Los Angeles, California, December 7, 2007:_**

 ** _8:08 pm_**

Being compromised was not part of the plan. Her mission was simple: terminate John Connor. But why was it so difficult? Why was it that she couldn't find her target, and kill him? Was it the machine bodyguards he had? Was it her carelessness to make sure they were dead before he? Or was it the fact that two FBI Agents had ensured that she be the one hunted.

That was why she killed one of them after all, only leaving the other alive as a tool. He was interested in her targets as much as she was. Abiet he probably didn't want them dead like she did, however. But James Ellison was the man who had been looking for the Connors after Cyberdyne's destruction in 1997. Leaving him alive served some purpose, and she wasn't exactly sure what it was yet.

Again, that question resurfaced in her mind. Why couldn't she complete her mission? She was no longer damaged like before. She could easily just go hunting house, after house; office building, after office building, finding and killing any match to John Connor that she came across.

 _Another impractical tactic,_ she calculated. Veronica conducted a small analysis on her systems, trying to find any reason at all for these illogical thoughts. They lacked strategic planning, and the ability to form a solid plan that would actually prove itself helpful.

The name given on her heads up display, read: T-950, model 546. That is what she was, an anti terminator. One of Skynet's advanced infiltrator units that were created for the sole purpose of easily killing any machine, reprogrammed by John Connor.

The TOK series, although in the 900 series, was the one that she came after. Skynet was forced to destroy the units after a glitch surfaced, that they'd develop after a short span of time. In turn, the TOK would no longer respond to their programming. It was because of the model's chip being too unstable to handle the prototype emotion emulator it was given. Those models were then destroyed and replaced with the T-950 series that were more dangerous and more efficient at terminating their targets.

But the thing was, the T-950's were already a series specifically designed to be almost impossible to reprogram. They were already considered to be obsolete by 2032. Skynet decided to resurrect the models, and retrofitted a new batch of T-950's with the long destroyed TOK emotion emulator into a new model replicated to look like Lieutenant Derek Reese's, young daughter: Chloe Reese, in which her look was given the template number: 546.

Information had inevitably reached Skynet, that John Connor had taken a liking to the little girl, and decided to use an old tactic to try and catch him off guard. It only proved to be false information, when it was revealed that the young Reese girl had never had the pleasure of meeting the man. Only her father.

Veronica shook her head, forcibly storing this information away. It was something she had gone over again, and again in the years she had waited for her target to return. She already knew the history of her creation, so why did it keep re-emerging? Now she couldn't even run a diagnostics test to determine the state of her cpu, without pulling other stored files into the light.

 _*Bing!*_

Veronica looked across the room, at her desktop, and noticed that it had automatically turned on. She went over to it, and sat down on a barstool, where she opened a window. It was an email. But from who? She didn't even have an email address. It was one of those human things that seemed unnecessary to have.

When she opened up the tab, it was a long letter. Luckily, being what she was, she was able to read over the entire thing in less than a minute. Along with the letter it was a picture of Sarah Connor, and an unknown man hugging in a picture together. She crossed referenced the man in her database, only to come up blank. Who was this man?

Veronica took some time to do a cross reference search on the Internet on anything relating to Sarah Connor. The most popular searches being that of the destruction of Cyberdyne in 1997. None of those articles mentioned a man that looked like the one in the picture. Only the T-800 and John Connor were ever mentioned.

Veronica kept searching for another hour until she found an article that was posted just a few days after Sarah Connor, and John Connor were pronounced dead at the destruction of the Los Angeles bank. An EMT unit was dispatched to assist any way they could. One of the EMT's was the exact man in the photo. He wasn't a native to California, as he was visiting from Nebraska. The name Charlie Dixon came up in the names of the crew.

Who was Charlie Dixon to Sarah Connor? A mate? An ally? Either way, he could be of use to lure out Sarah Connor, and possibly John Connor.

Veronica's right finger turned into silvery mass, and a large glowing needle began to take form. She placed her hand underneath the desk, and into the computer console. Her eyes flashed red several times until they stopped and she pulled her finger out. She immediately went into her phone, and repeated the exact same action. She found Charlie Dixon's phone number, and used that info to track his phone's GPS.

•••

Outside of Los Angeles, a truck came to a stop right outside of a gas station. Charlie Dixon stepped out of the vehicle, and looked around the barren land that was around him. It was almost as if civilization was gone, and this was one of the last places left. At least that wasn't really the case…yet.

Charlie turned and looked at his wife who was sitting in the passenger seat, looking at a map. "Do you want anything?"

Michelle looked up from her map, and gave a weak smile. "A soda would be nice."

"Anything for my lady," Charlie chuckled. He turned and walked closer to the gas station, where there was an old style vending machine right outside the entrance. He popped a few quarters into the machine and slowly waited as he heard the soda can fall into the retrieval bin underneath.

Meanwhile, Michelle was still studying the map. It would be at least a day or two until they made it to Nebraska. There they could start over and get away from this machine from the future business. Not that she believed it anyway. Despite both Charlie, and FBI Agent Ellison explaining it to her, it just sounded too crazy. Especially the part that dealt with time travel. This was reality, and none of that was possible. Was it?

She put aside those thoughts for now, just as she heard the door open, and close a moment later. "Did you get me that soda, babe?" But there was no answer. "Babe?" She repeated.

She looked up, and saw that it wasn't Charlie sitting in the front driver's seat. It was a girl with black dyed hair, and piercing blue eyes that lacked any emotion. With those thoughts of machines resurfacing, she immediately remembered what Charlie had told her about Derek's daughter, and how she had a machine like double, with dyed hair to hide her appearance.

Fear took hold as the machine had stared at her. "Charlie!"

Before she had another chance to shout out her husband's name, Veronica had used her elbow, and brought it up to Michelle's nose, immediately knocking her unconscious. With her newly captive under, Veronica started the car, and sped off.

Only then, did Charlie notice something was wrong as he saw his truck drive off, kicking dust up in the air. He only had a small glimpse, but he saw who was taking her. What was taking his wife.

"No! Michelle!"

 ** _Los Angeles, California, December 8, 2007: (Connor Safehouse)_**

 ** _9:07 am_**

If it wasn't for the sun's rays shining through the curtains, and onto the young leader's face, he would be enjoying his weekend in bed. He'd be sleeping till noon, sitting around watching television and eating junk food. But nope, another day was calling him onto his feet, and he wasn't ready to answer. No one in the house ever asked him to do anything, aside to stay alive. So why not just stay in bed? Right now, with the two cyborgs downstairs, he was the safest in his bedroom.

Again, before John could get the chance to snooze off again, he was awakened to his phone going off. He groaned tiredly, and reached for his cell phone on the nightstand. Forcing his eyes open, he saw that the number was unknown.

Immediately the voice in his head, that just so happened to sound like his mother, had told him not to answer it. Being wanted by the whole country and a future artificial intelligence was sure to cause that paranoia in him.

John opened the phone and put it up to his ear, preparing to mentally berate himself, and have to inform his mother that they were possibly compromised. But to his surprise, a very high pitched female voice had spoke.

" ** _Eighth of December!"_**

John immediately recognized the voice. "Emily?" he inquired.

" ** _Yup. Sorry to wake you up so early,"_** She apologized over the phone. **_"I was meaning to ask last night, but your sister immediately answered and hung up."_**

John shifted in his bed and sat up. "Ask what?"

" ** _I wanted to know if you wanted to hang out at the mall for lunch. But I totally understand if it's too sudden."_**

 _Dammit, Cameron! Why do you always have to ruin everything!?_ "I'm sorry, what time did you want to meet?"

" ** _I was hoping around twelve or so?"_**

 _Damn! Mom, let alone Alex and Cameron, will never let me meet up with a girl they never met before. Even so, I'd have to take Cameron with me. Definitely not a good idea._ But to say no to such a beautiful girl? Especially one that liked _him_ for once? "I'll be there."

" ** _Really?"_** Emily perked up immediately.

"Yes. Just give me the address and I'll meet you there."

Emily excitedly did so, and John took a moment to remember the restaurant name, and the exact mall they were eating at. Right now, John could hear the incoming scolding that his mother was going to wreak onto him.

When he hung up, he jumped out of bed in excitement, immediately heading straight to the bathroom to take a shower for today's activity. It was only _9:10,_ so he had plenty of time to get ready. One thing went through his mind as he was freshening up. He was going on a lunch date with the beautiful new girl at school. He didn't even have to do anything besides stand up for her in the hallway, the day before. But now, she has taken an interest in him and wanted to hang out. Even if it was just lunch, who knew. Maybe they'd become something more?

•••

Meanwhile, downstairs, Sarah, and Alex were sitting around the kitchen table, looking through over a dozen documents of locations, names, and sources of which the blood written names on the wall, originated from. Since a man had come from the future and had was so mortally wounded, that before his death, he used his own blood to write down his message. A little too unsanitary if Alex had to admit. But luckily they took photos and had Cameron make a very detailed drawings of the inscriptions for later use and analysis.

Derek Reese was sitting just opposite of them, reading a newspaper, and drinking a cup of coffee. It was surprising to see him sober for the first time within a month. The mornings were always filled with him being hungover and very grumpy. But after yesterday afternoon when he and John returned from a small drive, he seemed somewhat happier and didn't immediately leave for a bar. Instead he ate dinner with everyone, and slept in his own room for once.

"I wonder what's taking John so long." Sarah mused, staring at the staircase. She always knew her son was an early riser, just like herself. But this time it was already _9:30,_ and he still hadn't come downstairs for her to make him breakfast. She could start on it for Alex and Derek, but she normally didn't like catering to anyone but her son.

Derek took a sip of his coffee. "He's just a boy. If anything, he should enjoy getting all the sleep while he can."

"Wait a minute… we're allowed to sleep in?!" Alex suddenly exclaimed in astonishment.

" _He_ can," Sarah motioned her head at the stairs. " _You_ have a job to do. So that means _you_ get to be up as early as _me,_ and help _me_ with whatever I need _you_ for."

"Well that's not fair." Alex mumbled with a pout.

Cameron soon emerged from upstairs, wearing her laid out attire for today: A short pink dress, complete with a short cropped denim jacket. The only thing that stood out in her attire was her favorite black combat boots.

Alex mentally chuckled at Cameron's strange, _too_ normal teenage style. Back at the first safehouse, her attire mainly consisted of dark clothing. Dark T-shirts, dark pants, and boots. But lately, it was now all vibrant, and colorful. Maybe it was because most of her clothes were lost in the fire? The closest store was definitely no Hot Topic, so that was probably the reason for the drastic wardrobe change. Now it was mostly tight jeans and skirts, than cargo pants, and tank tops. Guess having a Forever 21 a few blocks away was bound to be a supporting factor.

Well at least she still doesn't have to tell anyone that she purposefully left Cameron's clothes back at the old safehouse as a small punishment for all the mayhem she caused in threatening John's life.

Cameron had walked into the kitchen and took a seat right next to Sarah, where she began staring at nothing in particular. Nothing out of the ordinary. After her little outburst a few days ago, she had remained silent, only responding when spoken to. Honestly, she preferred that. The young cyborg was definitely not skilled in what she was designed for. You would think that given her infiltrator settings, she'd be almost indistinguishable from a normal human. But no, she wasn't. She couldn't change her face expression, she couldn't stop walking stiffly. She couldn't even talk to anyone without sounding as disinterested as a dead cat. The moral of the story was, the less she spoke, the better. And she was damn glad to have the latter.

After taking a shower and getting dressed, making sure to add a dab of cologne for good measure, John headed downstairs, wearing one of the very few buttoned up shirts he had, and switching out his normal boots, for a pair of sneakers. Although, when he made it down the last step, he saw his entire family staring at him with the most perplexed expression, before inevitably erupting into uncontrollable laughter.

Now he felt quite stupid. Was he trying too hard? Maybe the shirt was too much? Well at least Cameron didn't laugh at him. But that was probably because she was an emotionless killing machine. John took a seat, now angry that his happy mood was now shit on for the most part.

"So, what's the occasion?" Sarah snickered and stood up, making her way to the stove to start of her son's breakfast.

"Well there is this new girl at school, and she wanted to have lunch at the mall," John noticeably blushed at the fact of mentioning Emily.

"Emily?" Alex inquired, in which John responded with a nod. "Ah… I see."

Sarah dropped the bowl of batter and turned to face her son with an irritated look. Everyone knew this wasn't good. Even Cameron could sense the incoming scolding that was coming in, three… two... one...

"You're not going to the mall with this stranger, John!" Sarah barked. "You damn well, know the rules!"

"Mom, she's normal!" John argued back defensively.

"Oh really?" Sarah mused sarcastically, crossing her arms unconvincingly. "And how do you know this? You didn't even know Tin Miss was one until she was shot, remember?"

"Because, Cameron said herself. Emily doesn't have a metal endoskeleton underneath! Mom _she is_ human!"

"Is she, Tin Miss?" Sarah asked the silent young cyborg. Cameron looked up at Sarah, and then back at John with a blank expression. John gave her a pleading look, but she but didn't way a word, and continued to just sit there.

"I see the cat has gotten the scrap metal's tongue." Derek snickered while taking a sip of his coffee again.

"Yeah, I'm not buying this," Sarah shook her head vigorously. "You're not going to the mall with this… this girl!"

"Mom-"

"Must I remind you of what is hunting you? Must I remind you that lately, people seem to be a bigger threat than machines? Must I remind you that you're not normal, and you are too damn important to lose?"

The whole kitchen fell silent for a long moment, with Alex, Derek, and Cameron staring at John and Sarah giving each other dagger glares. It felt awkward to be in the middle of this argument.

In anger, John slammed his fist on the counter, causing all of its contents to shake violently. "I never do anything, besides stay home! I can never do anything around here! I think you just don't like the idea that I am trying to live _my_ life! You don't like the idea that I'm trying to be normal while you play this whole ' _saving the world_ game!'" He turned on his heels and stormed back up into his room, where a moment later, the door shut loudly.

The room continued to fall silent, as the confrontation had left most stunned. More so, Sarah was taken aback by her son's behavior lately. After Chloe's passing, and Cameron going bad, then turning on him after he risked everything to save her. His attitude was off the rails when he was reminded of anything related to his destiny, or the past and most specifically, the future.

"Sarah, that was a pretty low note to hit there…" Alex whispered over to the older woman.

"Sometimes he needs to remember who he is." Sarah disagreed. John may be mad now, but he needed to understand how important he was. Letting him have a normal life without the constant possibility of danger was not a choice. She never asked for this. If it was up to her, she'd have no business in saving the world from a threat that would arise a few years from now. If it were up to her, John wouldn't be the savior of humanity, whom would lead their entire species into victory. But no, that was never the case. The Connor saying was definitely something to never take with a grain of salt. Her son's destiny was set in motion well before he was even born.

"Sarah, I found something!" Alex suddenly exclaimed, breaking the woman out of her thoughts.

Sarah walked behind Alex. "What do you have?"

Alex held up a piece of paper to Sarah, in which she took. " _That,_ is a news article on Club Venus. Apparently it was burnt down a few days ago, and three police officers, along with our dear friend Hector, we're found. Well at least their baconified remains."

"Someone killed the bastard?" Derek asked, standing up in curiosity and rounded the table to look at the news article.

"Reports say he and the other two officers were shot, before the place was burnt," Alex continued.

"Hold on, you said three officers." Sarah corrected.

In response, Alex shook her head. "The third officer's head was…. How do I say this? Everywhere?" Both Sarah and Derek looked at her in confusion. "His head was smashed beyond the point it was more like pork chops when the fire department arrived," She clarified more simply.

Both Sarah and Derek nodded in acceptance. "Who do you think did this?"

"Or _what_ did this." Derek opinionatedly stated. "Unless that officer's head was found under a support beam, or something heavy enough, then I don't know what can cause head trauma like that."

"Derek is right." Cameron stoically answered. Everyone looked at the young cyborg who actually spoke for the first time today. "235 kilograms, or 2,300 newtons of force would be needed to crush a human skull."

"So metal could have done this?" Derek asked.

"Maybe that Terminator from Keran's office?" Sarah then proposed.

"That's a possibility. However it is just a theory," Cameron replied.

"That bitch is becoming a sore in our side." Derek then mentioned. "We should have killed her back at the office and we'd be rid of her for good."

Sarah shook her head in disagreement. "There was a machine coming. We had two choices, and we chose the one that allowed us to live another day. Keran is our only chance at finding where the Turk is. If we can't engage her directly, then we need to find a loophole around her, and see if we can find anything relating to what she is planning."

"You think she's connected to Skynet?" Alex asked the woman.

"The Turk and that T-800 are the only links she has to our little world, so it's safe to assume she knows more than we give her credit for."

Suddenly, Alex's phone rang, with it buzzing on the table. In confusion as to who was calling this early, she picked it up, and answered. Before she could even get the chance to ask, the recognizable voice had frantically spoken. It was Charlie.

" ** _Eight December. Alex? That's the code, right?"_**

"Yeah…. What's up?" Alex asked, taking a small glance at Sarah who in turn was staring at her.

 ** _"Me and my wife… we uh, were on our way out of town. Um, we're leaving."_**

"And?" The way he was speaking sounded off. Like he was scared.

 ** _"Just um, can you, can you- can you hang on a second, please."_**

For a short moment, the line was silent, where she could only hear sniffling, before Charlie had spoken again.

" ** _Okay, I'm... I'm back."_**

 ** _"Just, um... Just listen, okay, um- I just need to say goodbye to Sarah. I didn't get a chance to say good-bye and, um- and she wouldn't give me her phone number. I was just hoping maybe you could um, you know, maybe you could just have her give me a call?"_**

 _Damn, he is too clingy of Sarah._

"Okay, hang on," Alex took the phone away from her ear, and handed it to Sarah. "It's for you."

Sarah reluctantly took the phone from Alex's grasp, and put it up to her own ear. "Hello?"

 ** _"Sarah. She took my wife!"_** Charlie spoke almost instantly.

"What do you mean? What happened?" Sarah inquired.

 ** _"The mach- the thing that looked like Derek's daughter. Just hel- help me Sarah, please. We were just leaving town. And she just, she just- she just took her! I didn't know who else to call. Please. Please just help me, Sarah."_**

"You really shouldn't have called." Sarah sighed iratably. This was already a risk talking to him on his phone. Unlike theirs, it was probably in service. That meant that someone could easily trace it if they wanted. "Where are you?"

 ** _"I'm just at some fruit stand. It's uh... It's just somewhere off the 14. Just um, south of the California City turnoff. I think. Please. I really need your help, Sarah."_**

"Stay right there. We'll be on our way." With that, Sarah closed the phone and handed it back to Alex.

"Who was that?" Derek asked curiously.

"Charlie." Sarah simply answered. "Chloe's machine double took her."

"Why the hell would she do that?" Alex inquired confusingly.

"Beats me," Sarah shrugged. "But something seems off."

"It could be a trap." Cameron stated opinionatedly. "It could very well be the T-950 that is impersonating Charlie's voice, in order for her to trick you into saving him, in which she could capture you, and use you as bait to lure John. It's what I would do."

Sarah stared at the young cyborg. "How reassuring," she sarcastically muttered.

"For once, I agree with the scrap," Derek mused convincingly. "This is not something a machine would do, unless it is to complete its mission."

"Well, it's a good thing we have two of you, then." Sarah pointed out. She looked at Alex and spoke, "Get the guns. We're gonna meet with Charlie."

"What about me?" Cameron then asked. It's been a month since Sarah has had her do anything aside from protect John. "Do I get to go on a mission?"

"This is a rescue mission, and no," Sarah shook her head. "You say your mission is to protect my son, and that's exactly what you're gonna do. Make sure he doesn't do anything, but stay here. Don't tell him anything about where we are going, or what we are doing. Got it?"

It would be easier for her to just leave Alex here with John. But the thing was, Alex was easily influenced, and prone to laxing on her given orders. With what this Chloe terminator was pulling, no chances should be taken upon, if Alex were to let John go anywhere he wanted. Cameron, at least, took orders very seriously. Abiet she did try killing him one time, going against her mission. After her malfunction, this machine had been acting so strange. She no longer trusted Cameron to look over her son. That was a trust that was broken when she aimed that gun at him. She needed to prove her worth to the hardened woman again before she'd even consider respecting Cameron again.

Cameron didn't respond, and just looked forward at Derek's now set down newspaper. "Alex, Derek, get ready. We leave in five minutes." With that, the woman marched out of the kitchen, and upstairs.

 ** _2 Hours Later:_**

John sat in his room, fiddling with his flip phone. After a few hours, his mother, Alex, and Uncle had left, saying they needed to grab some supplies from the weapons locker to track down a new lead in finding Skynet. He wasn't surprised that his mother had already found something. That they'd be gone for who knew long. A few hours, a day or two? There was no telling how long it would take, and he was constantly in the dark about everything. When he asked, they told him not to worry about it. It became very irritating. Especially when he wanted to do his part and learn about being this great leader he is supposedly to become.

Better yet, he was left home with Cameron, and forbidden from going out to lunch with Emily. All because his mother was too damn paranoid. Being left with Cameron was very annoying. Especially when she was constantly on him every waking moment. This was bullshit. He couldn't help fight Skynet, and his mother sure as hell made sure he didn't have a normal life. He was confined to his room like a prisoner. No going outside, unless it was the backyard. No going to the mall to hang out with friends. No doing anything, but go to school, and come straight back home.

This wasn't fair. It was already _11:34,_ and Emily was probably already heading over there where she would wait for him. Where she will realize that he had stood her up, and didn't have the balls to call her and tell her that he won't be able to make it. That his mother had to remind him of how important he was, yet again, restricting him from any sense of normalcy.

No. That's not what he was going to do. Staying here with a machine that only cared about his well being, and not if he felt trapped. Not when there was a very cute girl at the mall waiting to spend time with him. But by doing this, he was going to defy his mother once more.

John stood up, and grabbed his coat, before making his way towards his door. When walking downstairs, he saw none other than Cameron standing dead center of the living room, staring out the window. _Doesn't she have anything better to do?_ She was a machine, of course. But constantly staring out the window was just plain strange, and awkward for any passers-by.

Now he was just hoping that she was in some sort of standby mode, like that one triple eight in that fallout bunker. It would be very beneficial for him sneaking out. Especially when he had to grab the truck keys, and slip out without making so much as a peep. One sound, or one wrong move, and she'd be on him like a hungry wolf.

Well… maybe he was just over thinking. So far she hasn't attacked him, since her malfunction a month ago. She showed no signs either. If anything, she was sometimes too clingy, and would follow him around like a puppy dog. Never did he have any privacy with her around.

He did notice that she changed out of that dress from earlier, and had opted for a more suitable style taken from Alex's wardrobe. Light grey jeans, and a blue buttoned shirt.

John slowly crept down the stairs, taking baby steps to avoid the wooden floorboards creaking. Luckily for the rug being as big as it was, there was less floorboard to walk on, and more soft cushiony fabric to silence any squeaking the floor would make.

Finally making it to the door, John slowly grabbed the keys off the key rack, and turned the knob slowly. But just then, he had a strange feeling. As if someone was watching him. Following that one instinct to look back, John turned to see Cameron standing a little too close, boring her eyes at him. He nearly jumped out of his skin upon seeing the young cyborg, causing his heart to beat rapidly.

"How many times have I told you not to do that?!" John iratably fumed at the cyborg in frustration.

"Twelve." Cameron stoically answered. "Where are you going?"

"None of your business." John sneered. He turned and opened the door, walking out into the porch. He didn't get very far, until Cameron had grabbed him by the wrist, and swung him around.

"Where are you going?" Cameron demanded once more.

"Like I said. None. Of. Your. Business." John persisted. He knew that trying to intimidate Cameron was like trying to scare a car. But he needed to get his point across. She was an intelligent being with quite a bit of data on human behavior and knowledge. What use was she if she couldn't get the point?

"It is my business. Your mother said I have to watch you, and make sure you don't leave the perimeter." Cameron replied with a blank tone.

"So what?" John scoffed. "You're gonna kill me if I drive away?"

Cameron shook her head once. "No."

That answer somewhat gave him satisfaction. He made his way towards Derek's truck, and hopped in it. He started the vehicle up. Taking in a few lessons that Derek had showed him yesterday after their day at the park, he switched gears, and the truck slowly began to creep forward. In response, John slammed on the breaks, trying to remember which gear to set it at.

But before he even had time to get to grasp on what to do, he was rushed out of his mind, as the passenger door opened, and Cameron had taken a seat right next to him.

"What the hell are you doing?" John asked with venom in his voice.

Cameron looked at John. "I'm watching you, like your mother ordered," She said as she looked away."

"Get out." John ordered.

"No," she said flatly.

John reached over to Cameron's side, and opened her door, pushing it open, to further emphasize his point. "You do what I say. Get out now!"

"I only follow future John's orders. You're not him. Not yet, at least." Cameron responded. John watched her lean to reach for the door to close it. He saw an opportunity, and decided in the last second, to act upon it.

Using all of his strength, he pushed Cameron. With all of her balance being uneven, she missed the door handle, and fell out onto her side. She easily recovered, but not in time, as she witnessed the truck speed out of the driveway, and out onto the main road.

Her pain sensors had spiked very little, and her heads up display showed that she had taken some damage to her tissue. She looked at her elbow, and saw that she had a huge gash on in. Luckily it wasn't bad enough to show her metal endoskeleton. She would need to patch it up before chasing down John, and bringing him back home.

Back on the road, as John sped away from the safehouse, he cautiously looked behind him to make sure Cameron wasn't following him. He sighed in relief as he saw no trace of her. She'd probably find him sooner or later. That's what she was good at. Finding her target. But until then, he wanted to enjoy the every little time he had, with Emily.

But why did he feel so bad for doing what he just did? Pushing Cameron like that, was a pretty asshole move. He was just surprised that it actually worked. He managed to push a machine out of a vehicle. But that was probably due to her leaning too much, so gravity must have been the main factor in his success.

John shook his head, breaking these thoughts away. _No, she's a machine. She can't get mad at you for doing that. She can't get sad that you wanted her to leave you alone. It was just her mission. Nothing more, nothing less._

 ** _Los Angeles, California, December 8, 2007: (Outside of L.A.)_**

Charlie sat outside the gas station where it all went down. Where his wife was kidnapped by that wretched machine. If only it were like before. None of this would have happened. If he never met Sarah Reese- or Sarah Connor as she was known as. His wife, right now, wouldn't be god knows where, with a killing cyborg from the future doing who knew what to her.

Charlie had broke out of his thoughts, upon seeing Sarah's black Chevy Tahoe coming to an immediate halt right in front of him. He stood up just as the doors opened, with Sarah, Derek, and Alex all piling out with looks of annoyance written across every single one of their faces.

"Sarah-"

"What way did she take your wife?" Sarah immediately demanded.

Charlie pointed out towards the southeast, down the empty road. "Thank you for coming. It all happened so quickly…. Where would she take her?"

Staring down the road, Sarah just shrugged, "I don't know."

"Then how are we going to find her?" Charlie continued to press.

"I don't know," Sarah answered again.

"You don't know?" Charlie said almost sarcastically. He expected help from Sarah, but she was just acting lazily on her word.

"We have a good starting point, but she could be anywhere by now." Alex replied, also watching out into the distance.

Feeling uneasy with standing out in the open, he turned to Sarah and Alex. "That thing could be watching us right now. We need to go." machines were unpredictable, and he still expected a trap waiting for them to spring.

"What we need to do is find my wife." Charlie stubbornly replied.

Derek walked up closely to Charlie, and stood within inches away from his face. "Look, she won't tell you the truth, but sure as hell will. That thing took your wife to get to John. You think it gives a damn about _her?_ Your wife's dead."

Seeing the predatory posture both men gave to one another, and how close they were, Alex stepped in between the two, and pushed them back. "Okay, you both made your point. Now stop this, before I make you both ass hats!"

Charlie eased off, but Derek showed some reluctance. He only backed off when he saw the glare Alex gave him. As soon as the two calmed down, suddenly, Charlie's phone rang. He looked at it and saw the caller ID.

"It's her!" He sighed in relief, and answered. As he put the device up to his ear, Derek grabbed his wrist.

"Make sure it's really her." Derek said with seriousness.

Charlie in turn, looked at Sarah in confusion. "They can imitate our voices. You need to be sure." She sadly agreed. It wouldn't have been the first time she had been fooled by a terminator imitating someone's voice. They needed to be cautious.

Charlie reluctantly nodded, and turned his attention back to the phone, where he put it on speaker for the others to hear. "Baby."

 ** _"Charley..."_**

"Honey, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

 ** _"No. But I'm scared,"_** Michelle whispered over the line.

"Is _she_ there with you?"

 ** _"Yeah, she's in the next room."_** Michelle frighteningly reported. **_"I can hear her."_**

"Where are you?" Charlie then asked.

 ** _"Um, outside Mojave. In an...Abandoned building. About uh, four- five miles off the highway. I think."_**

"The 14?" Charlie inquired. That was only a few miles from here. Why didn't this machine take her further? What was her main intention, anyway?

 ** _"Yeah. There's a- a billboard for a, I don't know, a law firm. A dirt road runs in front of it. It goes east-"_**

"Make sure it's her," Derek reminded.

"It's her," Charlie insisted. "You think I don't know my own wife?"

"Charley. Make sure," Sarah insisted softly.

Charlie only gave Sarah a piercing glare, but complied. "Alright, babe. I need you to pay attention right now. Okay? The first night you and I ever made love, where was it?"

Everyone standing around Charlie, whom had heard that, looked at the man with their eyes widened. "What the hell, Charlie!?" Alex exclaimed. "We're right here!"

Charlie didn't even respond and just continued to focus on making sure it was indeed his wife.

Sarah seemed more stunned by this little conversation, although she knew what he was doing. Trying to prove to him that it was in fact her. But why couldn't she help but think that he was just trying to make her jealous?

 ** _"What?"_**

"Just answer the question, please." Charlie requested. "Now. The first time that we made love. Where was it?

 ** _"Uh, the beach...?"_**

 _Okay, good so far._ But it wouldn't be enough to prove to Sarah that it wasn't a machine trap. He needed to delve further into this. "Which beach?"

 ** _"Charley, I-I don't know... W-what? M-Malibu. Paradise Cove."_**

"Okay…. and what happened at dinner that night?"

 ** _"What do you mean, Charley? What do you mean? I don't know."_**

She wasn't helping her case so far. Although he believed it was her from the start, Sarah wouldn't move muscle until she was absolutely sure it was Michelle. "Just please, Michelle. Answer the question. What happened at dinner?"

 ** _"Oh, god... The magician. He took my watch?"_**

Charlie sighed. That was all he needed. "I love you, baby. All right? Just- We're going to come get you, just please... Just please hang tight." The line was cut, and Michelle had stopped talking upon hearing footsteps approaching, then silence. "Michelle?"

"Let's just hope the metal didn't decide to kill her right then and there." Derek muttered under his breath. Charlie looked at the future soldier with an exasperated expression.

"He's kidding." Alex tried reassuring.

"I'm really not." Derek shrugged.

Alex glared back at Derek. "Shut your mouth. Please."

"Will you guys cut it out!" Sarah barked. "Okay, Charlie. We're going to get your wife, but you do what I say. Got it?" Charlie reluctantly accepted. If it was going to get his wife back, safe and sound. Then he really had no choice but to follow Sarah's orders right now. "Good. Let's get moving, then."

•••

Meanwhile, across the desert, Veronica stood at the window of the abandoned building, as she patiently waited for Sarah Connor and her machine to arrive. Each and every time, it was this machine that had foiled her plans in terminating John Connor. She destroyed her right optic, forcing her to rebuild another one. She had ruined the easy chance of killing John back at the Valley Square Mall. This time, she was to avoid this machine. Make a diversion, so she could find and terminate John when he didn't have protection. This was was a perfect plan. Create a distraction, and abandon them here, while she uses the satellite to hack into Sarah Connors phone, and contact John. By using his mother's voice, she can trick him into coming out into the open.

"Please. Let me go… I-I didn't do anything!" Michelle pleaded with tears coming from her eyes.

"Yes. You didn't do anything." Veronica repeated.

"Then why am I here? Why am I strapped in this chair!?" Michelle the asked the machine.

"My mission priority is to terminate John Connor. I can't complete my mission when he is under the constant protection of two terminators sent back to protect him."

"Then why have me!?" Michelle sneered. "Why not him?"

Veronica tilted her head. "If I tell you my plan, then what's the point of it?"

"Fuck. You!" Michelle snarled.

Veronica didn't respond, and menacingly stalked up to Michelle. She knelt down, with her face inches away from Michelle's. "You're not scared of me?"

"If you were a bigger one, probably. But it's hard to be intimated when you looked like this." Michelle chuckled.

Veronica accepted and stood back up. What happened next, Michelle didn't have time to think, as she found her, along with the chair, across the room. Veronica had used her foot, and kicked her towards the old broken stairwell.

With Michelle still dazed, Veronica had grabbed her chair with one arm, and dragged her back to her previous spot. She was just barely able to recover when she witnessed Veronica grab a chair, and began to undo her coat. Fear began to take hold as she began to think what this machine had planned next.

"W-what are d-doing?"

Veronica grabbed the chair, and sat close to Michelle. "Showing you that you should fear me."

Michelle just watched in horror as she witnessed the young girl's forearm dissolve away into a shiny metal, until it had retreated away, and all that was left was a metal arm. She could see the mechanical inner workings of the servo motors, as well as the pistons moving everytime she flexed her fingers. What happened next was even worse, as she saw the machine's metal forearm start twisting and turning, as it became unrecognizable. It appeared to had morphed into some cannon like weapon, with blue fire spewing out of it.

Veronica smirked upon seeing Michelle quaver in fright. "Are you scared now?"

 ** _Los Angeles, California, December 8, 2007: (Westfield Century City Mall)_**

After much driving through traffic, John finally made it to the mall, with only being two minutes late. Hopefully Emily wasn't gonna wait two minutes and bail. As he walked down the mall, he found the food court Emily told him to meet her at. It was moderately full. There was people packed into it, but still plenty of seats for any new arrivals to sit at.

John had to scan the entire area, trying to find Emily. But so far, he didn't see her. Maybe it was the crowd of people? Maybe she didn't want to wait two minutes and decided to just leave? He sighed in defeat, about to just give up, and think of an apology for Emily on why he didn't make it. He'd also probably have to apologize to Cameron for pushing her out of the truck like that. Even if she was a machine and she probably didn't care. He still felt horrible for doing something like that.

Just as John was about to turn to leave, he felt something wrap around his waist. And someone squeeze him from behind. His instincts almost made him want to pull away, and go on the defensive. But he knew who it was.

"There you are!" Emily said gleefully. "I was beginning to think you weren't gonna show."

"Well I ran into some…. traffic." John settled for saying. Emily accepted his excuse, and the two sat down at one of the tables. John could tell that she also got dolled up for this little lunch, wearing more makeup than usual. She was wearing a white cream colored dress, complete with a black leather cropped jacket. He almost felt that he didn't try hard enough to try and impress her. "You uhhh… you look very beautiful."

Emily visibly blushed, and smiled. "Thank you, John. You look pretty great too."

The two sat in awkward silence for a long moment, with both of them looking around the food court, watching teenagers, and adults alike, conversing amongst themselves. John took this time to assess every possible exit, just in case something were to go wrong. His training and instincts had told him once again that no one is ever safe. You should have an exit strategy just in case.

"So… do you want to get something to eat?" Emily proposed.

John smiled and nodded nervously. "Uhhh, yeah. Sure, that sounds good."

Emily returned the smile, and stood up. "I'll be right back. How does pizza sound?"

"Sounds pretty good to me." John smiled. He pulled out a twenty dollar bill, and handed it to Emily, in which she accepted, and walked across the food court, where she waited in line, in front of some pizza deli. John watch as his _"date"_ had waited in line, and admired her beauty. Sure he would probably get an earful from his mother upon returning home. Cameron would probably inform her almost immediately. But at least he got to spend some time with Emily. For the first time ever, he felt like a normal kid.

After a long moment, Emily had bought and paid for the food, and was heading back to their table, holding two paper plates in her hands.

John absent mindlessly looked around once more, across the entire mall, and saw someone stalking along in the most robotic way possible. He was at a loss for words. How had she found him so quickly? She was a terminator, sure, but definitely not the Flash. It should have at least been another hour at most until she had tracked him down here.

As Emily had approached the table, John immediately stood up, and met her halfway with a concerned expression. "Are you okay. John? You seem a little-"

"Now is not the time. We need to go." John insisted.

Emily accepted without word, and followed John out the nearest exit, still holding both slices of pizza in her hand.

Cameron stopped when she noticed the two exit through the set of doors leading outside. Now she knew why John was so persistent on leaving. He wanted to see this new girl, Emily. Even despite his mother's wishes, he still went to see this girl. She began to follow them once more, and exited through the set of doors, leading to the outside. But once she had got to the parking lot, they were nowhere in sight. She'd have to backtrack where she saw the truck was parked at.

Cameron walked around the building, flickering through several modes of vision to try and find John. It was very probable that he would be hiding somewhere, so she wanted to be sure, and not have him slip out of her hands again.

However, Cameron's assumption proved false, as when she neared the front parking lot, she saw the truck speed by her, with Emily sitting in the front passenger seat, and John driving. He was beginning to make this very difficult.

As the truck had drove off, Emily had peered her head out of the window, when she noticed Cameron. "Is that your sister?"

"Yeah." John simply acknowledged. "She's very…." _How should I say this?_ "She's very clingy. She doesn't like me doing stuff without her."

"Wow. She really likes to get into your personal space?" Emily inquired.

John just simply nodded. "You have no idea." _Dammit! Why must you ruin everything, Cameron!?_ "Look I'm sorry… if you want, I can drop you off back at your house or something. I didn't plan for any of this to happen-"

John was cut short, when he heard Emily giggle in such a cute way, that he had gotten lost in his own words. "It doesn't have to be over yet. How about a movie?"

 _Wow. She is somehow yet, not repulsed by Cameron. Maybe she really does like me?_ "Uhhh… sure. I mean yeah, that sounds like a great idea."

"Good." Emily snickered. She relaxed in her seat more, where she began to fiddle with the radio, switching through various stations. John mentally prepared himself for what kind of garbage all teenagers listened to in this day and age. 2000's pop music didn't really sit well in him. It was just full of computer generated tones, and the singing was definitely auto tuned.

But to his absolute surprise, she had stopped on a rock music station that began playing Def Leppard. This was something he actually enjoyed listening to, although it wasn't one of his most favorite rock bands. But the song was definitely filled that beat that instantly got you hooked. Even more so, she actually began jamming out to the music, slowly bobbing her head to the beat. John's jaw almost dropped. _Holy shit… she is definitely something._ He silently admired her long blonde hair as it was flailing all over, inside the truck bed, as she listened to " _Pour Some Sugar On Me_."

John chuckled to himself as the beautiful blonde was having a blast just listening to old school music. He definitely misjudged her on her tastes. If anything he expected a girl that was into today's music. But Emily was just full of surprises. If his mother didn't believe that she wasn't a threat, then she has not seen her enjoy some good ol' rock n' roll.

 ** _Los Angeles, California, December 8, 2007: (Outside of L.A.)_**

After driving a few miles down the road highway, and down a long dirt road, they came across an old gas station with a radio tower right outside. There was no vehicle parked, nor was there any signs that anyone had been present for quite a long time. It was definitely the perfect place for a terminator to hold up at.

The SUV stopped just several yards away, where everyone piled out. Alex took the lead, while Derek stuck close behind her, both armed with heavy assault rifles, loaded with armor piercing rounds. Sarah and Charlie stayed very far back, silently waiting for the other two soldiers to give the all clear to approach closer.

Once Alex gave the go ahead, both her and Charlie had walked up to the abandoned structure, where Alex and Derek were already cautiously peering through the glass less window. So far they saw nothing, nor did they hear anything. But that was the thing. A terminator didn't need to move. They could stay perfectly still, and wait as long as necessary to attack their target; whether that be hours, days, weeks, or even years. They would continue to operate until either their power cell gave out, they were destroyed, or their mission was completed.

There was no other way. If the machine was still here, then it already knew that were here. It not attacking meant that it was waiting for an opportune moment to ambush and kill them all.

"Tin Head, you go first. Make sure it's all clear." Sarah whispered over to Alex. She nodded, and slowly opened the door, and disappeared inside. Through the window, Sarah, Derek, and Charlie saw as Alex had crept around inside. After searching the room, she gave a thumbs up, signaling that it was clear. The rest went inside, where it was completely empty.

"Well, I guess it's a possibility our metal friend took her to another place." Alex muttered.

"Or killed her," Derek muttered to himself.

"Is there anywhere else we can check?" Charlie inquired.

Alex nodded, "There is a back storage room, behind the counter." That was all Charlie needed, as he had bolted behind the counter and disappeared into the room. "Dammit, Charlie! I didn't even check that room yet!" She then shouted as she gave chase to the man. Upon the three entering the back room, they were greeted with Michelle, bound and gagged to a chair. "Oh."

"Help me untie her." Charlie requested from the three, and started getting to work. As he was about to take off the tab around her ankles, Sarah noticed something underneath the chair. Her eyes widened upon seeing the rigged mechanism.

"Charlie, stop!" Sarah barked. He did so, and looked up at Sarah in confusion. Sarah checked underneath the chair, and so far, her assumptions were true. There was a pound of C4 strapped under the chair, with wires running to some mousetraps on the legs of the chair. "Dammit! It's rigged."

"Rigged?" Charlie inquired.

"The metal bitch decided to leave us a small present." Derek clarified. "If she moves, we all die."

Sarah stood up, and looked at Michelle who was looking at her wide eyed. "I'm gonna remove the tape. If you make a sound, or even move, you will die."

"I'm gonna check the perimeter." Derek announced. "If I'm not back in five minutes, leave without me." With that, he left the room, with his gun at the ready.

When Sarah ripped off the duct tape off of Michelle's face, she started ranting about the machine, and what it could do. What it showed her. They all knew she was scared. Especially coming from someone who just barely found out about their existence.

"Honey, I need you to calm down." Charlie tried reassuring.

"I can't, Charlie!" Michelle gritted her teeth. "My legs are on fire, and I just want to stand up!"

Sarah slapped Michelle. "Hey! You do that, you will die! Do you understand me!? Die!"

To everyone's complete surprise, Michelle started laughing hysterically. "If I move, we are all dead."

"That is the most creepiest laugh I've ever heard." Alex mumbled while watching the woman having a possible mental breakdown.

"Baby. Look at me, hey. It's all going to be alright. I promise."

"No Charley, it's never going to be okay. never!"

Sarah studied the trap, and saw the wires running from the explosives, to the mousetraps. Any movement, and they would snap, causing a charge to detonate the explosives. If they are cut very carefully, then it's possible that it won't explode. If it didn't. Well she just hoped that John was somewhere safe, and Cameron wouldn't go bad again.

"I'm gonna try and disarm the C4." Sarah announced. "There is a bag in the car. Red handles. I'm going to need it, Charley."

Charlie reluctantly agreed, and left the building, and headed straight for the SUV to retrieve the supplies that Sarah needed.

While Charlie was gone, Sarah shedded her coat, and put it on the ground as a small cushion for her knees. "What are you doing here?" Michelle then asked out of nowhere. "I know he brought you. But you didn't have to come."

Sarah sighed. She didn't want to be having this conversation with Michelle. Especially under the given circumstances. "Yes, I did."

"For Charley?" Michelle mockingly quipped.

"I just did!" Sarah snapped. "Frankly, I thought it'd be easier. I thought you'd be dead." Michelle just looked at the hardened woman with disbelief at what she had just said. It sounded like it was pretty much an insult.

Suddenly, Charlie came rushing back in. "Hey. She killed the car. We're going to have to walk out of here." He was more so confused as he watched Sarah stand back up, and start pacing back and forth.

"What?" Both Charlie and Alex asked in unison.

"It doesn't make any sense. She messes with the car, and not us. We're human. Not that hard to kill." She took another looked at the chair that was rigged, and began to put two and two together. She walked back up to Michelle, and grasped the C4 explosives underneath.

"Whoa, w-w-wait! Wait! Sarah!" Charlie tried to say. But it was too late, as Sarah was already holding the C4 in her hand. It was hard as rock.

"It's molding clay." Sarah muttered in speechlessness.

"Playdough?" Alex innocently asked.

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Yes, Tin Head. Playdough."

"You don't have to be such a smart ass." Alex sarcastically pouted. Michelle just sighed in relief, thankful that she wasn't blown to pieces.

"Sonofabitch!" Sarah berated herself, "Cut her free!"

Charlie had begun tearing the tape off of his wife, until she was free, and helped her onto her feet. "Was it fake? This whole thing was a fake?"

Yes, it was fake. Something didn't make sense. This machine had made a ploy for them to save Michelle. One that didn't even have an intention on killing, or capturing either of them.

Unless….

"She wants John. She doesn't have to kill us to get to him. If we're stuck here with no way back. I should have known when you weren't dead." Sarah immediately reached for her phone, and began typing her son's number. It rang for a long moment before he answered. "John, Eight December. Where are you?"

" ** _2007\. Santa Monica."_**

 _What!? He should be home!_ "Is Cameron with you?"

 ** _"Uh…. yeah. Why?"_**

 _Actually… for once I am gonna praise him for going against my wishes._ "I need you to stay out. Don't go home. Don't go to Kacy's."

Suddenly, she heard static in her phone. They were out in the middle of the desert, so maybe it was just the old cell tower being stubborn. "Don't go anyplace familiar. Find a place to hide until I call you."

" ** _Is everything okay, mom?"_**

"I'll explain later. Just stay safe. Stay with Cameron." Sarah ordered in in a strict tone.

 ** _"Yeah…. okay. I promise."_**

With that, Sarah hung up the phone, and stood up, where she faced Alex. Before she even had a chance to ask anything of the cyborg, Derek came running back towards them with the look of terror.

"Run! There's a bomb," he yelled at the top of his lungs. "Get out! Go! Go!"

Everyone didn't need to be told twice, and made a beeline for the exit. The whole building shook violently, as a deafening sound had boomed, and a large object came crashing through the ceiling. Noticing this object last second, Alex had jumped in front of everyone, and pushed them out of the way, just as the object had landed, kicking dust up everywhere.

•••

Meanwhile, about a mile away from the highway, Veronica was sitting in her yellow sports car, typing away at her laptop, that was rigged to some computer software. She had recorded the entire conversation between Sarah Connor and her son, before detonating the explosive charges on the cell tower.

The plan did work. The unknown associate's suggestion did in fact, work. Everything from setting a fake tripwire with clay, to recording Sarah Connor's conversation, and destroying the cell tower. Now it was time to enact the second phase of the plan.

Veronica reached for her prepaid phone, and typed in the exact number that she had hacked through Sarah's phone, and dialed it. She put the phone up to her ear, and patiently waited for her target to pick up. Sure enough, after a short minute, John Connor had answered.

" ** _Mom?"_**

"Eight December," Veronica answered in Sarah's voice.

 ** _"2007."_** John tiredly groaned. **_"Is everything alright?"_**

"There is a change of plans, John. How far away are you from the pier?" Veronica asked.

 ** _"The pier? I'm not sure. Maybe a mile or two. Why?"_**

"Wait for me there, and turn off your phone."

 ** _"What is going on? Where are you?"_**

"Don't worry about me, John. Just get to the pier, and wait for me." Veronica pressed. To further emphasize her lie, she closed the phone without another word, and crushed it with her bare hands, before tossing the remains out the window. With that, she sped down the deserted highway, in pursuit of her target.

•••

Back in the now demolished abandoned gas station, the dust had barley dispersed, before Everyone had began to recover from the shock of what had just happened. Sarah looked around, coughing, seeing Derek, Michelle, and Charlie sit up, looking around the place.

"Everyone good? Is everyone good?" Sarah asked between coughs.

"Yeah. At least I think I am." Derek confirmed.

"I'm fine. I'm fine." Michelle then acknowledged from the side.

"I'm okay, too." Charlie reassured.

"What the hell happened!?" Sarah exclaimed in utter confusion. "What fell on top of us?"

"The cell tower out back," Derek explained. "The metal bitch blew it, after she tapped your call to John."

"God dammit!" Sarah angrily slammed her fist onto the ground. "She has John's number! And the code!" She reached for her phone, and attempted to reach her son. But there was no longer any service in the area.

"That won't work." Derek mentioned.

"Yeah I figured!" Sarah sarcastically snapped. "We need to get moving!" She then said, and got onto her feet. Everyone also stood up, and dusted themselves off. Everyone was all accounted for. All except for-

"Hold on a second. Where's Alex!?" Sarah asked. Everyone shrugged and looked around. There was no-one to be seen aside from them, who were already standing. They couldn't leave without her. She was the only one who had experience in fighting this particular machine. "Everyone begin searching! We can't leave until we find her!" Yes, she knew her son was in danger. Everyone bone in her body wanted her to just abandon the Tin Head for now, and try to get to John before the machine did. Luckily Cameron was with him. She'd have to be enough protection for now. At least that's who she hoped John was with at the moment.

"Guys!" Charlie called out. "I found her!" Everyone put down what they were doing, and rushed over to the man, where they saw Alex, herself, pinned underneath the collapsed cell tower. Only her upper torso were all that was still visible, while the rest of her body was underneath the rest of the tower, and rubble. Her eyes were closed, and she showed no signs of moving.

"Is she dead?" Michelle inquired in shock. The rest didn't seem to devastated at the fact that one of their own was practically crushed under this tower. Was she one of them?

"Unconscious." Sarah reported. "We need to get her out."

"And what do you suggest?" Derek sarcastically asked the woman.

Sarah shrugged. "I don't know."

"Look. Get back to the city, and find John." Derek then suggested. "I'll take care of Alex, here."

"We can't just leave you." Sarah persisted.

"John is more important." Derek pressed with seriousness. "Find him, and make sure that piece of scrap doesn't kill him. And if all goes well, bring back the Tin Miss to help, if this one doesn't wake up anytime soon."

"Fine." Sarah agreed. She turned and led both Charlie, and Michelle out of the now demolished building, and out into the desert, where they began walking down the dirt trail, and back to the highway.

 ** _Los Angeles, California, December 8, 2007: (AMC Century City 15 Movie Theater)_**

Both John, and Emily were standing in line, waiting for tickets to see some movie that she picked out. It seemed like a dumb movie idea. Robots from another world that were charged with protecting humanity from an evil version of their race. Maybe it was because it hit too close to what his reality was really like?

John just got through talking to his mother, and closed his phone when he saw that she had hung up. Something seemed off. Calling twice like that was not something she did. She always made sure that the plan was concrete before informing him. They never did tell him where they went. What kind of mission they went on. Something possibly went wrong, and he needed to meet them somewhere.

"Who was that?" Emily curiously asked. "Was it your sister?"

"No, it was my mother," John corrected. "I'm sorry. I have to go."

"Wait what? Why? I thought we were going to see a movie?" Emily said in disappointment.

"I know, and I'm sorry. I have to meet my mom at the pier. Some family emergency." He hated having to lie to this girl. He was actually enjoying spending time with her. But because of his nutjob mother, he had to just up and abandon Emily like some asshole who had better plans. It seems like he will never get some time to just relax, and have fun. "Look, I'm really sorry. I didn't plan for any of this. If I could I'd just stay here."

"It's okay, John. I completely understand," Emily softly smiled, as she place her hand on top of John's cheek. "But you do have to call me later," she then added with a smile.

"Deal," John chuckled. "I'll talk to you later." He confirmed, and left without another word, making his way back to the truck.

 ** _Los Angeles, California, December 8, 2007: (Santa Monica Pier)_**

After driving countless blocks down the road, John finally made it to the pier, where he parked down the road, and was now walking along the boardwalk. Dozens of tourists, and other visitors packed the deck fully, making it very difficult to maneuver around. This wasn't the most ideal place to meet his mother. So why did she pick it as a meeting spot? It was a very familiar location, abiet, the last time he was here, he was probably twelve. But it still was a very know place around the world. It sure had changed a lot since then. Especially when they ended up traveling eight years into the future.

As John walked along the boardwalk, he silently took in the sights, while trying to find his mother. She had to be here somewhere. The best place to check would probably be the very edge of the pier. It was normally less packed than the main amusement park section. If he knew his mother that well, then that's where she would be at.

As he made his way to the edge of the pier, he still felt a pang of guilt for today's actions. Yelling at his mother for her being protective, abandoning Emily at the movie theater, and lastly, pushing Cameron out of the truck because she just wanted to fulfill her mission All of them rooted from the same cause. All stemming from Emily wanting to spend time with him, and his mother disagreeing. But he was still angry with her when she told him that he can't have a normal life. That he had to accept it. She was way out of line for saying that. Especially after everything he's been through in the past month.

After much walking, John finally made it to the edge of the pier. There appeared to be some sort of art gallery that was being displayed outside, which was quite interesting. However, not much people seemed to admire it, and took to either socializing, or doing whatever else.

John didn't see his mother anywhere, yet, so he decided to browse some of the paintings. Some were quite intriguing; while some were quite bland, and lacked any creativity. He wasn't too much into things like this. Art was something he never really got into. As a kid, instead of making doodles on paper, he got to load bullets into magazines. Instead of creating things from plastic Lego bricks, he was taught how to make pipe bombs. Guess he didn't have a creative bone in his body.

Every time these memories world resurface, it angered him. It was bad enough that he had his mother constantly reminding him of his fate. But for him to start reflecting on his absolute shitty childhood? Did he like to shoot himself in the foot for these thoughts? Maybe so, because seeing literally anyone who was oblivious to the impending doom, all happy, with the only worry being if you could pay your rent on time… it made him jealous. Getting that _all around normal life_ that he had strived for, for so long. Maybe ignorance was bliss?

But sadly he couldn't just forget who he was. That would remain until the day he died, either by old age, or the things he was supposed to destroy.

It had already been five minutes when John checked his phone. His mother was nowhere. He expected her to be here first, but she wasn't where he expected her to wait. It was probably time to walk the rest of the pier, and find her.

 _What is the worst that could happen?_

Now, he was on the opposite end, looking through the small pacific park amusement park. Nothing aside from the crowds of people waiting in line for the very few rides, and to play some of the rigged games that the attraction had to offer. Maybe he should come here again sometime? With Emily perhaps? It could probably make up for abandoning her at the theater.

Now this was beginning to become annoying. He had been waiting for well over ten minutes already. If his mother wasn't here, then something must've happened. Yes, going against his mother's wishes would probably land him in more deeper shit, but now he was beginning to get worried.

John picked up his phone, and went into his contact list, where he pulled up his mother's number. He put the phone up to his ear, and patiently waited for her to answer. However, the other line went to voicemail.

"Come on, mom!" John groaned tiredly. He tried again and again to reach her, but the same thing happened. This was becoming repetitive, but he needed to get ahold of her. Something was definitely wrong, and it was possible that his mother, along with Derek and Alex could be in trouble.

John dialed Sarah's number one last time, and waited for the inevitable voicemail to pop up. Something was definitely wrong. He needed to meet up with Cameron and ask her stance on the whole situation. Sure, his mother wasn't answering, but there had to be a bigger picture to that. Cameron would surely know if something was off.

John was suddenly broken from his thoughts, when to his surprise, his mother had picked up.

" ** _John! Oh thank God! Where are you?"_**

 _Wait what? What does she mean by "Where am I?" She told me to meet her here. What's going on?_ "What do you mean? You told me to meet you here."

" ** _Meet you where!? Stop playing games with me, John! You're in danger, right now! Please tell me you're with Cameron!?"_**

Her voice sounded frantic, with a hint of fear? "Mom, what's going on?"

Before he could even tune in to what his mother was or wasn't going to tell him, his gaze had been directed at the crowd ahead of him. Even more so, he saw an all too familiar face. One that haunted him in ways that he couldn't even begin to fathom. But judging by the cold stare, the posture, and the different colored hair, this wasn't the ghost he hoped it would be.

John immediately ran to cover behind one of the game booths, his breathing becoming heavy, and his heart rate elevated. "Oh shit!"

" ** _John? What's going on?"_** His mother demanded in a fearful tone. John, however, didn't respond, as he was too focused on what was here. **_"John!?"_**

"It- it's here… the Terminatrix!" John exclaimed. "Mom!"

" ** _Sonofabitch, that thing moves fast!"_** Sarah berated herself. **_"Okay, John. You'll be okay as long as you do what Cameron says. Got it?"_**

"Cameron isn't with me!" John hissed in terror. "Mom, I need help!"

" ** _God dammit, John! How can you be so stupid!?"_**

"You're not helping, mom!" John argued iratably.

" ** _Okay, okay. Where are you right now?"_**

John looked around his surroundings, being careful not to peek his head out for the Terminatrix to see. If his location wasn't blown, then he had another few minutes at most, before he'd eventually be found. "Okay, I'm at the uhh… pacific amusement park. I'm right behind this booth, but she's only a few feet away from me. Where are you at?"

" ** _Me and Charlie just barely got back into the city. We are on our way. Just hide out until then."_**

 _Charlie!? What's he doing with mom?_ John shook his head. He could ask all the questions he wanted to, later. For now, he needed to escape. More preferably, without this machine seeing him. But that was going to be practically impossible, with how excellent they are at pursuing their targets.

For now, he needed to make due with sneaking around. That was his only method to surviving at the moment. John closed his phone and returned it to his pocket. He peeked around the corner again, and saw the the machine a little closer to him, showing a photograph to some of the park visitors. That's was surprising. Almost everything she has done. Somewhat mimicked the other terminator a few years ago. He was just surprised she didn't wear a police uniform.

Now it was time to study every possible exit. Something he should've done when entering the damn pier in the first place. So far, there were only two possible exit points. There was a stairwell to his far right that was located closer to the parking lot. The other was blocked by the Terminatrix, that was the main entrance of the pier.

There was a third possible exit, but that involved jumping from the pier, and into the Pacific Ocean. He definitely didn't feel like getting wet today, so if he could, he'd take the latter, and choose the exit close to the parking lot.

He just now had to figure out how to divert this machine's attention away from him, so he could make a clean getaway. An idea suddenly popped into his mind as a guy walked past him, where he stopped the man. "I need your help. My girlfriend is acting crazy, and I need to get out of here."

"Sure thing, brother. What do you need?" The man agreed.

A smile appeared on John's face, as he sighed in relief. "Do you think you could go over there, and shout into the crowd 'I'm Connor, come and get me?' it would help a lot."

"Seems easy enough." Just for the help, and possibly risking this man's life, John slid the man a twenty dollar bill, and got into position. The man walked over to where John requested, and turned to face the large crowd. "I'm Connor! Come and get me!" Easy enough.

The man was surprised when he saw a short raven haired girl stalk up to him, and grab him by the throat. He had to admit. She had one hell of a grip, and her eyes were written with crazy. She looked over him for a short moment, before she released her grip on him.

"You're not him," She stated flatly. "Who told you to say that?"

"Now if I told you that, it wouldn't be worth this twenty, now would it?" The man mockingly quipped, waving the dollar in Veronica's face. She responded to this by grabbing his wrist, and breaking it with one fluid flick. The man fell to the ground, grabbing his wrist in pain. "Ahhh! You're boyfriend is right… y-you are crazy!"

As Veronica walked away, she stopped upon hearing what this stranger had to say. "Boyfriend?" She asked with the tilt of her head.

"The guy that's making a run for it right now." The man snickered. Veronica jolted her head to see John sprinting through the crowd. Without another word, she turned and began her pursuit.

Whereas John had trouble maneuvering around the tourists, Veronica easily pushed through them with ease. For the first time in eight years, she had her sights set on her target. There was no other cyborg protecting him. Today, she would terminate John Connor.

Sadly he wasn't going to get away undetected, so he had to do what he did best: run. Run with all of his might, and only hope that he could get away.

However, as the crowd had began to slowly dissipate, he was now out in the open, and had no cover. Next thing he knew, loud thunderclaps were all he could hear, and he felt the air kick up around him, as gunshots had wooshed near his head. John immediately ran to the nearest form of cover, and leaped behind a concrete barrier.

He silently thanks the abundance of useful cover systems when he needed them most, as he heard bullets embed themselves in the large concrete slab. However he couldn't stay here forever. He needed to keep moving. Preferably without taking a bullet.

John looked in front him, and saw that he was closer to the parking lot. Only a few feet away was the stairwell that led to the beach below the pier. John decided to peek his head over the barrier, and had a very small glimpse of the weapon Veronica was using, before a bullet hitting only inches away from his face, had forced him to retreat back to cover. She was approaching closer and closer. He needed to move quick.

The gun looked very similar to the glock that Cameron favored. Although he didn't have much to go off of, besides that, he had to just rely on luck for this. _Okay, so by judging by the gun, the max rounds it could hold would be around nine bullets._ John counted the gunshots, and waited for the silence, signaling that she had stopped to reload her weapon.

He then ran as fast as he could for the stairs, just as Veronica had loaded a fresh clip into her gun. She took aim, but John was already out of sight. She bolted for the stairwell, looked down, to see John leap over the railing last second, and fall a few feet before landing on the sand below. She copied his actions, but landed on her feet, instead of transitioning into a roll like John.

John had stumbled onto his feet, purposely kicking sand into Veronica's face, disrupting her vision for a short period of time. That allowed him to make his way up the beach, but not without gunshots flying past him still. Now John was beginning to regret this escape route. The sand made it difficult to run. That, mixed with the threat of getting shot by a killing cyborg made it even more scarier.

Now he was regretting everything he did today. Leaving Cameron was one of them. Now he had no-one to protect him. It was specifically like his mother, Alex, and Cameron said: _"If none of us are there, and that machine finds you. You will die, and we can't do anything about it."_

Veronica unloaded her weapon, and reached for a fresh clip, only to find that she was out of ammo. She tossed the gun to the side, and looked all around her. People were running away in fright, just like her target. None probably cared about anything, but survival at the moment. No-one was focused on her.

John ran until he made it to the Venice Beach boardwalk. Sadly it was more so empty now, since the gunshots had probably spooked away everybody. On the bright side though, there were more places to hide behind. He was surprised to have made it from the pier, to the beach, to all the way over here. He expected to have been clipped at the beach long ago. He should have died. So why didn't he? The Terminatrix could have easily ended him, so why didn't it?

 ** _*KA BOOM!*_**

John was immediately rushed out of his thoughts when a bright blue ball of fire had shot past him, and impacted a small corner store behind him, engulfing it in to flames. The heat felt like it was enough to burn off his eyebrows at that range. He had to feel for them, just to make sure he still had them. He looked back behind and saw Veronica stalking towards him, with her arm morphed into some cannon, with smoke rising from it.

He remembered that weapon. It was used on the school bus back in New Mexico. It had enough force to overturn a bus. He remembered Chloe telling them it was an onboard plasma cannon. This wasn't good.

John turned and continued to run down the street as fast as his legs could carry him. While running he pulled out his cell phone, and tried looking for Cameron's phone number, while trying to keep focus up ahead of him, and behind him. The Terminatrix was still closely following, and gaining up to him quite fast. With how tired he was getting, he felt himself slowing down drastically. He couldn't keep running down this street forever. He needed a place to hide and sneak away. Or at least somewhere to take a quick breather.

•••

Back at the pier, Cameron walked amongst the scattered crowd, as distant gunshots were heard. She tried to quickly dash over to the location, but with the crowds of people running the opposite direction, she found it difficult to maneuver around. Luckily after a minute, the crowd had disappeared and she was able to make it to the location where she found a concrete barrier riddled with bullets holes, and a man hiding behind a trash can, holding his wrist.

Cameron knelt down in front of that man with curiosity. "What happened here?"

"Some crazy girl came through here, trying to kill her boyfriend or something." The man explained while gritting his teeth. "I helped him escape for the most part, but she's pretty relentless."

"Crazy girl?" Cameron tilted her head. "What did the _boyfriend_ look like?"

"Short brown hair. Wore one hell of a nice shirt if I must add," The man chuckled in hysteria, still gripping his wrist tightly. "Oh, and he said his name was Connor."

Cameron's eyes went wide upon hearing John's last name. "Where did he go?" She demanded.

The man pointed towards the parking lot. "I saw her chase him down to the beach. Maybe we should call the police?"

"No." Cameron answered flatly.

She grabbed the man's wrist, and quickly flicked it, with an audible popping coming from it. The man slapped Cameron's hand away from his wrist and held it more tightly, gritting his teeth even harder than before. "Ahhh! Why do you ladies always have to go for the wrist!?"

"I broke it back into place." Cameron stoically replied, and stood up.

"Oh. Thank you, I guess." Cameron left the man sitting there, and started sprinting after John. "Jeez, that kid definitely has a full plate."

Cameron ran for the railing where she saw the Terminatrix firing off her Glock at John, whom was running for the small shops on the Venice Beach boardwalk. Cameron looked on in horror as she saw the Terminatrix throw away her gun, and her arm morph into a plasma cannon before firing off a super heated charge of plasma at him. She was thankful that she missed, and only the shop next to John was harmed.

He, along with the Terminatrix, had both disappeared down one of the streets, leading east. She needed to get to him quickly.

Cameron ran further up the parking lot, until she came across Derek's truck. John had the key, and it was most likely locked. Knowing full well that she was going to receive the wrath of Derek Reese later, Cameron broke the window, and unlocked the door, where she began to hot-wire the vehicle. Once it started, she backed out of the parking lot, and sped down the road, with John's last seen location in mind.

She turned down the street, and drove up to John making a beeline for one of the clothing stores, before disappearing inside, along with the Terminatrix not too long after.

Cameron stopped, and parked the truck, across from the store, and followed the Terminatrix and John inside. It was normal for the most part, until an alarm began to blare loudly. Someone had ran out through the emergency exit.

Cameron ran to the back of the store, and saw the door wide open, and rushed through it. She didn't have to look very far until she saw the Terminatrix standing over John, aiming her plasma cannon at him.

She quickly reached for her gun, and took aim, where she then began concentrating fire onto the machine.

Veronica turned her head, when she felt her pain sensors spike, and saw Cameron approach her. She retracted her plasma cannon, and took form of her original looking hand. She'd have to deal with this machine, or risk termination on herself.

As she attempted to turn around, Cameron had done it for her, and landed punch after punch onto her face. Veronica mimicked these actions and too began punching Cameron, where all that could be heard from the struggle, was the sounds of metal bashing against other metal.

Veronica shoved Cameron back, and used her foot to give a nice stern kick to her abdomen, causing her to fly backwards into a garbage can. She grabbed Cameron's gun off the ground, and turned back to John, and took aim at him.

This was it. Her mission was about to finally be completed. She was about to kill the John Connor.

Just before she could fully squeeze the trigger, her balance was knocked out, when a large object collided on-to her head, causing her to fall to the ground. Cameron stood over her, holding a wood pallet. She threw it to the side, and grabbed Veronica by the shirt, and tossed her at a brick wall.

Just as Veronica barely recovered from being thrown around like a ragdoll, she saw Cameron bolt towards her, where she was then tackled further into the wall, embedding her in the bricks. Cameron held her there, but she could feel that the Terminatrix was easily stronger than here, and was pushing back.

Cameron slightly turned to John, just enough that he was in her peripheral vision. "John. You need to leave."

"Bullshit, I'm not leaving you!" John argued.

"This isn't a discussion, John. Leave now!"

That last sentence made him almost flinch. Instead of it being a blank command, it almost sounded of… concern? Was it worry, or fear? No, it couldn't be. Alex, and even _she_ , may have said that _she_ was different, but deep down she was still a machine. She said so herself.

Now he was feeling pretty damn stupid to be standing there when he already had his orders. He felt conflicted on whether or not he should run. It's what he's always done, so why did it feel so difficult right now?

 _Dammit! Why can't my life ever be simple!_

John looked over towards Cameron's right, and found a power box on the brick wall.

 _That's it!_

"Cameron, we have to disable her!" John suggested loudly. In the distance he could hear sirens drawing closer. They needed to act quickly. Soon the Terminatrix will overpower Cameron and she can finish her mission to kill him.

John began rifling through the overturned garbage can, trying to find something useful. All he could find was a old small radio, that still had the power cord attached. It would have to due. He ripped the cord from the radio, and ran towards the power box, where he opened, and began tearing off the rubber coating with his fingers until enough copper wire was exposed on both ends.

"Hurry, John!" Cameron highly recommended. The Terminatrix was holding onto Cameron's hands, where she began using her elbows to slowly push her way out of the wall.

John grabbed a pocket knife from his pants pocket, and used it to tear off the cover seal, where more wires of were exposed. He then cut two wires, and tied them both to the radio cord, followed by tying the wire to the blade of his pocket knife. Now he just hoped it worked, because he knew little to nothing about electrical engineering.

"Cameron I need you to let her go!" John ordered. Cameron looked at John with the look of disbelief. Before she could interject, John held up his little rigged contraption for her to see. She reluctantly eased off and backed away, allowing Veronica to free herself from the rubble. She looked at both John and Cameron in confusion. Cameron was ready to tackle her into the wall again if necessary, and she noticed what John had rigged together with some wire and a small knife.

Veronica first kicked Cameron in the stomach, yet again, followed by turning around and slapping the knife out of John's hand. She turned once more, and grabbed Cameron by the shoulders, slamming her face into the ground. Only then, she felt John climb on top of her, and felt a small jolt of electricity course through her. But it wasn't enough. She shoved John off of her, and pulled out the knife from her shoulder, and snapped the connected wire from it.

Now she had a weapon to finish the job. Just as John began to stumble up to his feet, Veronica rose the knife, and thrusted it towards him, with the blade piercing his stomach.

Cameron looked up at John fall with blood coming from his abdomen. Her eyes became wide and a lone tear fell from them.

"John!"

Cameron's eyes flashed blue, and she quickly jumped onto her feet, running towards the machine, and slamming into the Terminatrix with her shoulder, causing her to fly back, and collide with the powerbox. An immense electrical charge ran throughout her body, forcing her into standby. Veronica fell to the ground, unmoving.

Taking whatever time she had before the machine would reboot, Cameron rushed over to John and rolled him onto her lap, where she tried to shake him. "John!" There was a long moment of silence, where John laid there, not moving a muscle. She began to fear the worst. She took a moment analyze him, and found that he opened his eyes, and coughed in pain. She slightly perked up in relief. "Are you okay? Please tell me you're okay?"

"Yeah… well sort of," John struggled to say. "Guess this terminator really sucks at her job." He then added with a chuckle, only to wince in pain, in response.

Cameron looked over his belly wound, and saw that it was bleeding, but only very little. The blade didn't show any signs of going as deep, or hitting anything major. "I don't see any signs of internal bleeding." she looked over towards the Terminatrix' body, "We need to leave."

She began to help John up, until he stopped her. "I'll be fine, Cameron," John insisted. He looked over at the machine which looked like his cousin, whom he guessed would reboot in a minute or less. "We need to stop her while we can."

It hurt like hell, but John took out the blade, and handed it to Cameron. She reluctantly took it from John and went over to the machine where she cut into the skin, and removed the port seal, before removing the entire chip. Cameron went back over to John, and had made a tourniquet around John's waist, using her button shirt, and helped him onto his feet. She left to retrieve the truck, and picked John up, where the both of them loaded Veronica's body into the back seat, and covered it with a blanket to avoid any suspicion by anyone.

Now as they drove home, so John could get some proper attention for his wound, they both sat in silence. John fiddled with the T-950 chip. It looked more advanced than Cameron's chip, or Vicks. Guess as advanced model was bound to have some new features and improvements added.

John noticed the bandage wrapped around Cameron's right elbow. That was one hell of a reminder. For once it wasn't because she was a machine- but instead served as a reminder for such an asshole he had been to her. Sure, this last month he had said some pretty questionable things to her, but he actually hurt her. He then noticed that as she drove, there were dried streaks on her face.

"C-Cameron. Were you… crying?" There was no response from her, as she just ignored him, and kept her head forward, focused on the road. He felt even more conflicted now, and this pain in his stomach definitely wasn't helping. He wasn't sure when or how Cameron started crying. Was it when he pushed her out of the truck? Was it when he got stabbed?

That voice, that oddly sounded like his mother, had rang in his head once more. _She's a machine. They can't feel. They don't feel regret, sadness, empathy, remorse… love. They only kill._

But now he was more tempted than ever to ignore them. Those thoughts that drilled him to stay alive- all for a hunch he had on Cameron for the first time since…. Since that Halloween night at that party at Cherie's house. Since that day she was pinned between the trucks and pleaded for her life. When she told him that she loved him, and he loved her.

He deserved every moment of it. The silence was a punishment for all the terrible things he had done, and said to her in this last month. Everything from abandoning Emily, to almost getting gutted like a fish. Now it was time to face his mother's wrath… wherever she may be.

•••

After arriving back at the safehouse, John and Cameron arrived to see a very pissed off Sarah Connor standing on the front porch, with Charlie, and Michelle Dixon next to her. Surprisingly there was no scolding yet. She was shocked to see her son hurt, but was more than delighted to hug him tighter than ever.

Luckily for John, Michelle, and Charlie had stitched John back together, in his room, and gave him painkillers to ease the pain.

While being stitched up, Cameron took this moment to sneak away from everyone, and hid the truck in the shed. She'd need to figure out what to do with the endoskeleton, later.

After taking some time to rest, Derek had managed to return with Alex, where Charlie then treated the hybrid for the injuries she sustained from having a giant cell tower fall on top of her. Upon Cameron returning, John began explaining what happened to him, and how he and Cameron got away from the Terminatrix. For his mother's sake, and Derek's, he and Cameron did not mention at all that they had the body and chip. Sarah was still angry on how she was tricked by this damn machine, and how her carelessness almost led to her son being killed.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't scrap the Tin Miss?"

"She didn't do anything, mom! If anything, she saved me just in time!" John argued. "I wouldn't be here right now if not for her!"

"If Tin Miss done her damn job, you would have been close to her, at home, where you could've had a shot at not getting stabbed!" Sarah snapped angrily.

"And I learned my lesson!" John explained.

"I'm sorry Sarah," Cameron said as she stepped forward. "It was my fault. I let John go with me into town, and when the 950 called, we were separated. I lost him, and he tried finding me, until he thought it was you that needed to meet him at the pier."

"Is that right?" Sarah looked at Cameron, as did everyone else.

"Yes." Cameron nodded blankly. Alex gave her a long glare, before standing up, and limping her way out of the room, and into the kitchen for a bottle of water.

"Staying here is too dangerous," Sarah then announced. "This machine knows our phone numbers. It probably knows where we live!"

"So what?" John crossed his arms. "We're moving again?"

"It almost killed you, John!" Sarah exasperatedly pointed out. "The next time she finds you; and must I remind you there will be a next time, Tin Miss and probably even Alex won't be able to protect you. Just looked at what happened today!"

"She won't be able to track us here, as you two were not home at the time she hacked your phone," Cameron reassured. "I destroyed John's and yours to be sure, and dumped the remains twenty blocks away from here… we're safe still."

"And is that supposed to make us feel better?" Derek snickered. He walked up to Cameron, and stood within inches away from her face. "You tried killing John before. How do we know you don't plan on killing John yourself?"

"If I wanted John dead, he'd be dead." Cameron acknowledged flatly. "You of all people should know that."

"Derek, stop… please." John requested. Derek looked at the future leader, once but agreed and took a step back.

"We should give John some time to rest." Michelle suggested, motioning everyone out of the room.

Everyone reluctantly left, one by one, with Cameron being the last. "Cameron… can I speak to you for a moment?" Cameron complied, and closed the door behind her. "Why did you do that? Lie to mom for me?"

"I don't understand the question?" Cameron inquired confusingly.

"I treated you like shit. Yet you still took the blame for me… why would you do that?"

"You once told me your mother can be scarier than a Terminator. I think you've been scared enough for one day. Only so much Adrenaline is healthy for you."

John chuckled at Cameron's display of humor. He noticed the bandage on her elbow again, with that guilt returning once more. "I'm sorry for pushing you out of the truck. I really am."

Cameron looked down at her elbow, and then back up at him. "Not a problem."

John shook his head. "No, it is a problem. I hurt you when you protected me. You always get hurt when you protect me."

"It's my mission. Besides, I don't get hurt."

"Cameron… hurt or not, I realized I have been a complete and utter jerk today- these last few weeks. I'm sorry for that. Doing what I did to you was uncalled for."

"Yes. It was." Cameron nodded once. "But I forgive you." With that she turned on her heels, and walked out of the room, making sure to close the door behind her, leaving John to rest, and reflect on thoughts he had buried for an entire month.

•••

 **Author's Note: That wraps up another chapter! A lot has happened, and I didn't really have much intention of bringing Charlie and Michelle into the fold. I took elements from the episode "The Mousetrap," but took out, and implemented my own elements into it.**

 **I'm delighted to say that Cameron and John worked together to take down Veronica. Derek isn't gonna be too pleased to see his truck almost destroyed.**

 **Jameron development is definitely coming at warp speed now, but will hit some speed bumps along the way, as expected. John pushing Cameron out of the truck was definitely an asshole move, but I think that it made him realize something. He really does love Cameron. He is just having trouble believing himself.**

 **Reviews and constructive criticism are gladly appreciated! :)**


	21. Chapter 21

**Terminator: No Fate But What We Make**

 **Chapter 21**

 ** _Los Angeles, California, March 23, 2027: (Location Unknown)_**

It was dark, it was cold, and the air smelled of sweat and rust. The only light illuminating, came from the small port seal that was above the cell. Heavy metal footsteps were heard lurking around the upper decks, and the surrounding people groaned in pain and hunger.

One man was sitting at the edge of the cell, tightly hugging his knees, shivering erratically. The room was beyond freezing, and the only clothing he had, were and old pair of pre Judgement Day sweatpants and a sweatshirt. He had no shoes, no socks. His feet ached the most, but keeping his upper body was more of a priority right now. The putrid smell of all the bodies made him want to puke. But what could he throw up? It's been at least five days since his last meal, and two since he had any water. He hated how dry his mouth was. How it felt like there was no saliva left. At least that took his mind away from his constant hunger, at least that was until he would eventually come back to food.

Suddenly the door at the end of the corridor screeched open, and the metal footsteps became louder, and louder as they stomped their way over to his location. Was this it? Was he to be taken and executed? The man's cell opened, and that was exactly what he was expecting. A metal arm to grab him, and drag him away. Where he would be taken God knows where and probably killed in a brutal way.

But instead, a young girl was tossed inside, where she hit her head a nearby metal bar. The cell door slammed shut again, and the footsteps soon disappeared as they left the room, and the door screeched closed. It was quiet once more, and the only sounds that were even heard, were the pained groans of the young girl.

The young girl began crying, while running her hand over the top of her head, through her tangled hair, checking for any wound that could have been caused from the impact.

Upon seeing who this was, the man shuffled his way over to the young girl, and engulfed her in a tight hug. "Allie, are you okay?" He asked worryingly.

"W-w-why do t-they keep taking m-me?" Allison whimpered, trying to choke her words out.

He honestly wish he knew the answer. For the past two weeks, it was _her_ that the damn metal kept taking into another room, where she'd remain there for hours- sometimes days. It horrified him to even think what they were doing to her. Torture, maybe? Having her strapped to a chair for hours on end, doing nothing but injecting drugs into her system, forcing her to cooperate? He didn't want to ask, but if he was going to find out what they wanted from her, then he was gonna have to. "What are they doing to you?"

"They k-keep making me take my clothes off… they only tell me to stand there and turn around every so often. They take hair samples and skin samples."

Now he was shocked, to say the least. If anything, luckily they were only machines. They didn't have desires like man- a lust for any beautiful girl. The Greys would've loved to get their hands on her, and he wouldn't be able to do anything about it. The machines only studied them like animals, using whatever they find as a new weakness towards the Resistance. Coming up with biological weapons was occasionally Skynet's favorite toy, and definitely loved unleashing deadly agents into the air for any living being to breath, and or, ingest through other means- whether that be through water, or their food supply.

But this… what these things were doing to her. It made no Goddamn sense. A machine wanting to look at a naked teenage girl for the only purpose of studying her, and only taking samples. What meaningless task were they up to?

"Please don't let them take me again, Martin. Please," Allison begged with a whimper. He could tell she was terrified. Being in a situation like this was not one he wanted to be in either. Being locked in Century wasn't as bad at least. Sometimes machines gave you food, and warmer clothes. But that still didn't change the fact that they worked you to death. What this was. Where they were. This was no work camp. It wasn't an execution camp. All of these people were locked in here, where they never got to see the light of day.

If years of serving in the Resistance served him right, then these machines were experimenting on humans, trying to find weaknesses to kill humans faster, and more efficiently. Skynet was probably using them as a new plan to terminate John Connor and the entire Resistance. Martin hugged Allison tightly, giving her all the warmth, and affection she needed right now. "I promise, Allie. I promise,"

He only wished that were true. That those words of reassurance would be meaningful. He couldn't protect her like he promised John. When he faced odds like these, there was no protecting her from the wretched machines. Hopefully John would come. If it was his daughter that was missing, he knew his General would be searching every nook n' cranny to find her. And if he knew his sister, she'd be right there looking for him too, along with Allison.

 _The future is not set. There's no fate but what we make for ourselves._ That's exactly what he needed to do. Have faith that John will come for them. Have faith that he and Allison won't die like animals in this damn cage.

He only wished they'd come sooner.

 ** _Los Angeles, California, December 9, 2007: (Connor Safehouse)_**

 ** _4:12 am_**

In the kitchen of the Connor safehouse, Cameron lied on the floor, unmoving. Her body was located close to the sink. It was dark, and the only light that illuminated, was that from the moon outside. She popped her head up, and looked at her surroundings, only seeing the underside of the table, and the cabinets towering above. She looked down at her chest, and noticed that her tank top was drenched in water. Her pain sensors showed signs of tissue damage on her right forearm.

 _That was strange._ For some reason everything went black, and it almost seemed like she was in a different world. She was crying and a man was comforting her. The man didn't look, nor sound like future John however. He was a complete stranger, so who was he?

Next thing Cameron knew, the lights flicked on, and Sarah, and Derek were already in the kitchen with their weapons drawn. John and Alex were barely making their way downstairs too as both soldiers put away their weapons. _"Everyone looked like shit"_ was the term Derek, and occasionally John would use to describe someone's appearance. They indeed looked like they all had a rude awakening.

"What happened, Tin Miss?" Sarah groggily demanded. Despite her planning on waking up an hour from now anyway, she hated being abruptly awaken. Especially when it turned out to be the Tin Miss doing something strange.

"I don't know." Cameron truthfully admitted. She remembered what she was doing in the kitchen. John had asked her to get him some water. He was still recovering from being stabbed, so she was more than willing to get him some. The only thing she remembered was that moment, filling up a glass, and the next thing she knew, she was lying on the floor, completely soaked and some of the broken glass sticking inside her forearm.

"Cameron, are you okay?" John asked with concerned. He shuffled his way over to her, pushing past his mother, and uncle to get to her.

"Yes," Cameron assured flatly. With John's back facing the rest, and half blocking Cameron's face, they failed to see the tiny smirk she gave John. She looked at her forearm again, and began pulling the shards of glass out without flinching.

Sarah rolled her eyes. Just when she was beginning to enjoy the relationship gap between her son, and Cameron limited to only being protection, He was back to square one, worrying about her wellbeing. "Were you attacked?" She then decided to ask, looking around the kitchen, trying to study the scene.

Cameron shook her head, "No."

"Then what the hell happened?" Sarah demanded in a harsher tone.

"I was getting John a glass of water, and I…" Cameron began trailing off, which brought some confusion to the rest of the family. That dream, that… what could she call it? Where did it come from?

"Cameron, what are you-?"

"It's nothing, John." Cameron reassured.

"Are you sure?" John asked unconvinced. Cameron was about to open her mouth to answer, but was immediately beat by Sarah whom spoke with irritation.

"If you're so worried about Tin Miss, then why don't you go patch her up!?" She sarcastically quipped. To her surprise, however, John actually helped Cameron onto her feet, and led her from the kitchen, and upstairs to the bathroom. Now she regretted saying that. Right now, and uneasy feeling churned around in her gut. Yesterday, John almost died at the hands of the Chloe terminator. Maybe he was just so grateful that she had saved him, that he was more than willing to owe her his life? Perhaps. That is what she hoped it was.

"I'm going back to bed." Derek grumbled, and started making his way back down to the basement, where he had his _"room"_ set up.

Alex too was about to turn and head back to her own room, until Sarah grabbed her by the arm, and swung her back around. "I need to talk to you."

"Ugh, what?" Alex groaned iratably.

"Something is definitely wrong with Tin Miss, and after yesterday's little incident… I need you to keep an eye on John and on her. If she goes bad again, John is gonna need your help."

"I thought me and you were going to look into Keran, and try to see what she is up to?"

"That can wait. Right now, I can't trust Tin Miss. Not after everything that's happened. John needs protection right now, and I'm not sure Cameron can fulfill that purpose. At least till we know she's not gonna go bad again." She looked at the stairwell, and heard that the water started running. John was actually probably cleaning Cameron right now. "And make sure that he is just washing the wound and not her entirely," She then added with worry. The Tin Miss and her son seem to be getting along again. It was probably because he felt like he owed her his life. She wasn't exactly sure why his attitude towards her changed all of a sudden.

"Will do, Sarah." Alex accepted. After the month incident, she no longer trusted Cameron's motives. Especially when she decided to stop attacking John all of a sudden. The weird traits she began to pick up from observing other people. Alex turned and left Sarah alone in the kitchen, and made her way upstairs.

Sarah looked at the broken glass that still littered the floor, and sighed. Most of the shards still had Cameron's blood covering the pointed ends. Because of her sarcasm, now she had to clean up after a terminator.

•••

Meanwhile upstairs, John had Cameron leaning over the edge of the bathtub, where warm water already partially filled the tub, which was discolored with soap, and Cameron's artificial blood, creating a pink color. He ran a clean rag over the wound, taking the time to wash away the blood, and any glass that still lingered deep within her skin.

"John, this isn't necessary. I can clean it myself, as it is in a location I can reach."

"Well, sometimes it's nice to have help." John smiled, and continued to clean the wound. Cameron didn't protest, and sat there in silence, letting John clean the wound. He accidentally took her hand into his own while cleaning, for a better grip, and was very surprised when her fingers had wrapped between his, which caused him to jump back in surprise, in turn, making him shift unnaturally. He winced in pain at the stab wound on his stomach.

Cameron reacted to this, and eased him from falling. "I'm sorry."

"No, no, no, it's fine." John gritted his teeth, lightly pushing her away. "I'm just really sore, that's all." It didn't satisfy Cameron, but she reluctantly accepted.

After about a few minutes of repeating this, and making sure not to grab her hand again, John look her arm out of the tub, and dried it off with a towel before starting to wrap it with a bandage. He smiled at his handy work, and put away the remaining first aid supplies back into their container. "There you go. All patched up again."

"Thank you." The edges of Cameron's mouth seemed to lift upwards before her expression fell back into blankness. The two sat at the edge of the bathtub, not talking about anything in particular. It was awkward for John to say the least, but he knew that she didn't mind, nor did she understand the importance of keeping up with conversations. Maybe that was a relief. She never thought of the need to have an ongoing conversation.

Alex soon came walking into the bathroom where she saw the two staring at the ground, as if they were caught scribbling over the walls with crayons. She mentally rolled her eyes, and coughed gaining their attention. "What are you two up to?"

"We were just umm-"

"John lent me a helping hand," Cameron instead replied, holding her bandaged wrist for Alex to see.

"Well ain't that cute." Alex sarcastically pouted. "Anyway, Sarah wanted me to check up you two."

Cameron noticed the attitude that Alex was currently displaying. It was that of hostility. She knew that Alex had disliked her even more recently, but this time it was similar to how Derek treated her. She looked at her chronometer, and noticed that it was very early in the morning. She looked at the young leader, this time with a serious demeanor. "John, you need to get some rest. I can handle myself here."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Cameron nodded, making sure to give him a small smirk that only he would notice. "I will be alright."

"Okay," John accepted without word, and stood up. "Goodnight." He pushed past Alex, giving Cameron a small smile before disappearing to his room, and closing the door behind him.

As soon as John was gone, and Cameron had stood back onto her feet, Alex shoved the young cyborg into their room, and slammed the door behind her. "You suck at lying. You know that, right?"

Being slightly surprised by the sudden shove, she looked at Alex with her eyes widened. "I don't understand?" Cameron inquired.

"I can read you like a book! You lied to Sarah yesterday and I want to know the truth, right now!"

"I wasn't lying." Cameron answered flatly. "We needed to make a trip into town so I brought him along."

"Oh, yeah?" Alex mused. "And where did you go?"

"Radio World," Cameron answered almost immediately.

"And what did you get from _Radio World_?" Alex then asked.

"Nothing."

"What did you plan on buying?"

"A new desktop, and monitor to further spread out our access to the internet, thus making it a useful tool in locating Skynet."

Alex crossed her arms unconvincingly. Originally she could tell that Cameron was lying because earlier that morning, John wanted to go see his new friend: Emily. But Sarah didn't trust her whatsoever, so he had to have snuck out to see her, and Cameron was just covering for him when the Terminatrix had attacked. But that was only her that could assume that. Cameron was an expert at lying. She didn't have a tell- something that you would notice is off about them; whether that be touching their ear, or having a higher pitch in their voice. But she wasn't just dealing with a someone. It was a machine that could be lying through her artificial teeth and still have that lifeless expression.

"Just know that I'm watching you," Alex hissed. "Tomorrow, Sarah put me in charge of the two of you, and to find out if something deep down in that thick skull of yours, is still messed up. And if it is… you know what happens." With that, Alex turned on her heels, and left the room, leaving Cameron alone, standing in the partially lit up room, with only her thoughts for company.

Alex was getting onto both her and John. She was suspicious as to what happened. Even though it wasn't a huge lie that could potentially cause any physical harm to anyone. She needed to hide the T-950 body by tonight. Then both she and John can burn it and be rid of the threat forever, and focus on stopping Skynet.

However, Cameron was rushed out of her thoughts when Alex came walking back into the room with her arms crossed. "This is my room, too, so get out and let me sleep."

Cameron didn't say a word, and left the room, with Alex closing and locking the door behind her. Well that was great, now she couldn't go back to change later, until Alex, herself, woke up. But since Sarah allowed her with sleeping in for an entire month, that would probably have to wait till noon. Even longer considering she had abruptly woke everyone in the house up.

While she still had the time, taking care of the T-950 was of most importance. Getting it out of Derek's truck and moving it to a more secure location where only she will know of, and can show John later, when he is healed and able to walk around more easily.

With that objective in mind, Cameron set out to take care of the body, before anyone else woke up. Derek didn't see his truck yet, so when he did, there was most likely " _hell to pay"_ as John would say.

 ** _Los Angeles, California, December 9, 2007: (Downtown L.A. - Zeira Corporation)_**

 ** _9:30 am_**

If one thing was better than working at the Bureau, it had to be the company car and being able to show up to work at nine in the morning. That was what was beneficial, but not what was the reason he accepted the job offer. It was what Catherine Weaver believed as did he. Machines were real and did in fact walk amongst us. Thanks to Catherine Weaver, her focus was on finding out the truth as once did Aldridge. To prove once and for all that Sarah Connor was right all along.

As Ellison walked into the Zeira Corp lobby, he was greeted by several business associates of Weaver along the way, as he made his way to the elevator. Between his arm was a small box. He swiped his newly given badge against the elevators scanner, and the doors closed, bringing him up to Weaver's office. That was the most amazing thing to him. The whole building was given the reputation of being one of the most advanced skyscrapers in the world, using state of the art security monitoring software, and automated systems. To him it was almost as if the whole damn building were alive, it seemed.

The door elevator doors opened with a loud ding, and he stepped out, where he then made his way down the hall and into Catherine Weaver's open office. There, he saw her sitting in her chair, like usual. But what was more strange, was that a little girl was sitting on one of couches just opposite of her.

"Good Morning, Mr. Ellison," Weaver greeted with a smile.

"Good Morning, Ms. Weaver," Ellison acknowledged.

"Have you met my daughter, Savannah?" She then asked.

Well that was kind of a no-brainer. He had never even seen the little redheaded girl before. "Umm, no. I haven't." Ellison walked over to Savannah and sat next to her. She was happily playing with a stuffed giraffe, making noises with her mouth. "Hello, Savannah. I work with your mother."

"I know," Savannah giggled. "She has told me about you."

Well that was certainly surprising to say the least. Catherine Weaver mentioned him to her own daughter? Maybe he made a big impression on her, and had taken a liking to him? She wouldn't just hire someone. There was a reason why she sought him out specifically. "Mr. Ellison, come join me in the meeting room."

The man rushed out of his thoughts, when seeing the woman walking into another joined room that had a large table at the center. "It was nice meeting you, Savannah," Ellison gave the young redhead a smile before standing up to join Weaver. As he entered the room, the glass door, behind him, automatically slid closed.

"So, what do you have there?" Weaver asked curiously, referring to the box in his hands.

Ellison smirked and handed her the box, in which she gladly accepted. She opened it, and shuffled around the crumpled up newspaper that filled the entire box, and pulled out an object. A hand made of metal.

"Where did you find this?" Weaver asked in astonishment as she carefully examined the triple eight hand.

"I found it during my time over at the Bureau, and that is my sole reason for believing these things in the first place," Ellison explained. Although it sparked what soon killed his partner thanks to that female machine back at Arnold Jackson's mansion.

"This is certainly a start, Mr. Ellison," Weaver responded, still closely looking at the hand in curiosity. She then put down the arm, and stood up. "What happened to the skin that once surrounded it?" She then asked.

"Uhhh, it actually began to rot, so I had to remove it," he said sheepishly. "How did you know that it had skin?"

Weaver smiled. "The one who was responsible for my husband's death looked human, just like the one who killed your entire team. They need it to blend in."

"You do have a point," Ellison muttered. "So what's going to happen now?"

"What happens now, is that this is going to stay strictly between us. The world isn't ready to know the truth just yet, Mr. Ellison. And when we do show them, I think it's best if we have more than just an arm to show for it."

Ellison looked at the woman in surprise. "I didn't even know we planned to show the whole world."

"This is just us speaking with the possible future in mind, Mr. Ellison. People will find out sooner or later- whether that be in this world, or the one that _this," she motioned at the hand,_ "came from."

He wasn't sure what to think about this. The whole world finding out the truth about machines. If the government were to get their hands on one of them, then God knows what would happen. Maybe they'd create the very world these things did come from? Or would it prevent it? There was no telling right now. Only what Weaver said was the answer.

Ellison simply settled for a nod. "I better get back to my job."

With that, he left the office, leaving the metal hand in Catherine Weaver's possession. She looked back down at the arm, and picked it up, where she set it back into the box, and folded it closed. She took it back to her desk, and out it next to another similar box underneath her desk.

"Mommy, I'm hungry," Savannah reported from the couch.

Weaver looked back up at her daughter, and smiled. She reached for the phone, and dialed the reception desk. "I'll have Victoria bring you something. What is it that you want?"

Savannah took her time, pondering on what exactly she wanted. "Ummm… can I have Mac n' Cheese?"

"That isn't a suitable meal for breakfast, Savannah," Weaver mentioned. "But if that is what you want, then I will see to it that Victoria brings you some Mac n' Cheese."

The little girl smiled gleefully, and went back to playing with her stuffed giraffe. Weaver put in the call to her assistant to find some Mac n' Cheese. After was all said and done, she went back to work on whatever today held.

But after opening her computer, a news article immediately came up, which certainly caught her interest: _Attack on Venice Beach Boardwalk,_ was written in big letters, and had a single photo of the local fire department putting out a shop fire. Many eye witness accounts claimed that a girl was trying to kill her boyfriend, while some other claimed that they saw the girl's arm turn into some sort of weapon which caused the fire. The description for the second eye witness stated that her arm was that of a twisted metal forming a gun.

Weaver's curiosity peaked. She tried to find more information, but other news sites had no further info than what she had read. But several links were provided that guided her to a video site, where there was a grainy, rapidly moving recording taken off someone's phone.

She clicked play and watched every frame methodically, until she quickly clicked pause, and had an almost perfect photo of the two accomplices. Later she would need to check into this. Something too familiar, yet strange seemed to have occurred at this public place. She would certainly look more into this before reconciling with Mr. Ellison on this matter.

 ** _Crystal Peak, June 8, 2027: (Resistance Headquarters)_**

Everything had happened so quickly. He wasn't even sure what to do, or even if he should do anything at all. She pleaded that he erase her memory. She didn't want to deal with the burden of being a machine, and better yet, a machine that knew her father figure had betrayed her, and gotten her human self killed. It was his fault, and his ignorance- his mindset on only the mission led him to this point.

Sometimes he could barely remember the past. Maybe it was because it was a distant memory, or maybe it was because for the longest time, he suffered from a severe case of amnesia. Only people who knew him prior to Judgement Day could fill in the gaps and eventually lead him to regaining those lost memories. But one thing stuck out for sure. That one voice that always would stay with him, and act as a conscience; telling him what to do when he needed it.

He was meant for this life- this pain and suffering. He was meant to lead the humans to victory, but he wasn't meant for anything greater. Only selfless acts would land him as being a legend. But what good was being a legend if he was to be alone till the day he died? What good was it, if a legend was to do questionable things to ensure victory over the enemy? If it meant sacrificing those he loved for the greater good?

The answer was simple. Along with the destiny of being the leader of mankind, that came with the curse to suffer.

"John?"

He broke out of his thoughts when he heard shouting coming from the corridor. He ever so slightly turned, and saw over a dozen soldiers rush up to him, being led none other than by his medic officer.

When Amanda approached the scene, she was quite shocked. Seeing Alex in the corner, unconscious and bleeding, with a small plasma wound coming from her abdomen. "Get her to sickbay," she ordered two of the soldiers. They followed their given orders, and grabbed the hybrid, and started to carry her off with some strain.

"Ma'am. These four are DOA," one soldier announced. She nodded in acceptance. Death was common, but in given situations like these… she could never get used to what this world had to offer.

Amanda walked up to John, whom did nothing, aside from staring at the chip in his hands. She looked down and saw the little girl who she used to know. But given that her scalp was cut open, and the port seal revealed the inner workings of her head. She knew this wasn't Allison Young.

Amanda put her hand on the General's shoulder, and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "I'm so sorry, John."

He didn't respond. Instead he just safely put away the chip into his coat pocket, and turned to face his men. "Clean up here and return to patrols." With that said, he knelt down, and picked up the inactive body of the little girl he once knew, and walked away, and down the corridor.

Amanda chased down the man, and joined him at his side. "John, listen to me, we need to talk about this." There was no response coming from his mouth as he continued to march down the corridor, faster than the woman. She was forced to jump in front of him, making him come to a complete stop. "I will not be ignored, General! I'm trying to help you!"

"Help by attending to Sergeant Mathews," John ordered in a quiet tone. "I can handle myself here."

Amanda shook her head in disagreement "My trainees can handle her wounds. I am concerned about you!"

"There is nothing you can do, Williams. Get out of my way. Now."

She could have sworn she detected a… well nothing really. His expression, and posture reminded her that of a Terminator. Before she could even say anything further, John had walked past her, and disappeared down the hallway, just as more soldiers rushed past her, on their way to the elevator.

 ** _Los Angeles, California, December 9, 2007: (Connor Safehouse)_**

 ** _10:29 am_**

So far it was a fairly quiet morning in the Connor household. Nothing was out of the ordinary. The birds chirping outside to go along with the very sunny day. The sunlight that shone through the kitchen. Both Sarah and Derek were getting ready to venture out into town for much needed supplies. Anything that could be used to make traps, and other utilities that would be useful in quickly taking down an attacking machine. That, and food was quickly running out. A routine grocery shopping trip was in order, and a possible weapons locker stop.

Cameron sat alone at the dinner table, silently finishing Friday's homework, also taking the time to copy down hers for John on his assignments. With him being wounded, she wasn't sure when it was safe for him to go back to school, when he needed to heal. The wound, luckily, wasn't as life threatening as she originally made it out to be. It only pierced at about two centimeters, with it only being only meters away from his stomach. That was a relief, but injuries sustained from humans, no matter how small, could put them out for quite awhile.

Sarah had just got off the phone with Charlie, as Derek's retrieved his truck keys from the key rack. "Who was that?"

"Charlie," Sarah answered. "Both he and Michelle made it back to Nebraska."

"And he called you?" Derek inquired.

"He bought a prepaid phone just to tell me he made it safe, so don't worry," Sarah mockingly reassured the hardened soldier. "Before he left, I set a new code in place. A digit code to make sure that…" She had to stop herself a moment from calling that machine, Chloe's doppelganger. Even though she personally took to calling it that name lately, she knew it would hit a very sore spot in Derek. She could call it the Terminatrix like Alex and John did, but frankly, to her at least, it didn't fit. It sounded like a name that would be given to a more effective killing machine. "That machine doesn't trick us again."

"Good. Don't need to be compromised again," Derek accepted. He picked up the bag, and opened the door, only to stop when he noticed something. "Where the hell is my truck?"

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked confusingly.

"I usually park my truck right in the front, but it's not there!" He said a little louder.

"I parked it in the shed."

Both Derek and Sarah looked behind them, upon hearing a murmur. They looked in the kitchen, where they saw Cameron intently focusing on her homework. "Why the hell would you put it in the shed?" Cameron looked up at the two, but didn't say anything. "Why. Is. My. Truck. In. The. Bloody. Shed. Bitch?" He asked one more time, this time in a more harsher tone.

Before Cameron could utter another word, Derek stormed out of the house, and stomped his way to the shed.

Soon, Alex came downstairs, slowly easing John down behind her, with him using her back as a support for if he were to suddenly fall.

"What are doing down here?" Sarah demanded calmly. "You should be resting."

"I'm fine, mom. Really." He knew there was still that dissatisfaction in her expression. "I just wanted to get some exercise, and move around a bit. That's all." She still wasn't comfortable with her son walking around so sudden, but decided to leave it when Derek came rushing back in the house with an angry, frantic expression.

"What the hell happened to my truck!?"

"What do you mean?" Alex asked. Without another word, Derek went back outside, with everyone following in curiosity. As they made their way down the steps, and around the house to the shed, they immediately saw the condition of the truck. The glass on the driver's side was shattered, and the cover under the steering wheel was ripped off. Even on the bumper, there was a visible dent that extended horizontally. "Oh."

"Now I am going to ask again," Derek asked one final time. "What happened to my truck?"

John looked behind him, and over at Cameron who was still standing on the porch. She didn't join them past the steps, so what was the problem? Derek followed John's gaze towards the house, and saw Cameron suddenly leave his line of sight and go back inside. Immediately, he began marching his way back towards the house, where he climbed the steps, and through the front door, with John, Alex, and Sarah following.

"Derek, please stop," John pleaded. But Derek didn't listen, and walked over to Cameron, whom, had sat back down at the kitchen table, and was scribbling into her notebook.

"That _thing_ , ruined something that belongs to me!" Derek ranted at John.

"Cameron had to break the glass so she could use it to get to me!" John continued to protest in Cameron's defense. "If she didn't, I'd be a pile of mush, instead of John Connor!"

"That thing knows how to lock pick! I've seen her do it to my weapons chest downstairs!" Derek continued angrily. "She could've easily done that, or find some other damn car!"

"She didn't have much of a choice! The Terminatrix almost killed me, and Cameron needed to get to be in time. Breaking your truck's window saved time, in which saved the only person who's gonna even be worth a damn in the future!"

"Well maybe you wouldn't have gotten yourself in that damn situation if you'd just start thinking like John Connor, and not like John Baum for once! Start thinking that there are things out there that want to kill you! Stop thinking to yourself that she's just a normal girl, because it sure as hell ain't one! That is an emotionless killing machine, that cares for nothing besides the Goddamn mission!"

"Derek, let's not do this right now-"

"Yes, John, we are doing this!" Derek interrupted. "You need to see the fucking point! That piece of scrap is nothing more than a tool! There is no use in getting close to it, because as soon as we are done, and Skynet is gone, that thing is going to be scrapped the following day!"

 ** _*SNAP!*_**

Everyone's attention was broken upon hearing a loud break of wood. All of their focus fell on the young cyborg who was holding what was once a pencil, but now was crumpled into tiny wooden shards. Everyone looked at Cameron speechless. To most, it seemed that this argument had gotten to her. But when some remembered what she was, they immediately debunked it.

"Cameron?" John questioned with concern. Surprisingly there was no response as she stared at the table with a blank expression, as if she didn't hear a single word he said. "Cameron?" He repeated. Again, there was no response from her. Just a look of blankness.

Cautiously, Alex moved John behind her, while Derek and Sarah slowly pulled their firearms from behind.

"Cameron. Answer," Sarah ordered suggestively. "Now!"

That woman's raised voice seemed to have gotten through to her as she Just looked up at the four, this time with a zoned out expression.

 _What's your name?_

"Cameron?" John inquired with a hint of fear. "Are you okay?"

 _My name's Allison._

"Yes," Cameron stoically answered. It was as if whispers had clouded her mind, all talking to her at once. Some were too inaudible to detect who they belonged to. But some sounded all too familiar. Especially one that was louder than the rest.

Just as she immediately stood up, Sarah and Derek were at the helm once again, slowly drawing their weapons, while Alex was at the forefront, ready to shield John from any potential attack.

But they all realized they had overreacted, when, she started to drone around the room, until she eventually made her way to the living room window, and started to intently stare out of it like usual.

Sarah and Derek hesitantly put away their weapons, still suspiciously eyeing the machine. Alex still stood in front of John, until he had gently maneuvered away from her, and took a step closer to Cameron. However, he was stopped when he felt his mother's grip on his arm. "Leave her alone, John."

He looked over at his cyborg protector, with a look of guilt, and sadness. "Someone needs to talk to her."

"That's a bad idea right now, John," Alex too suggested. "I agree with your mother." Even Derek gave a nod of agreement to the two women's suggestion.

He couldn't help but look over at Cameron and feel terrible. Despite his mother, uncle, and Alex not wanting him to be near her at the moment, he wanted to try and talk to her. Try and comfort her. Maybe the battle with the Terminatrix had done something to her? Like she said, if she planned on killing him, he'd be dead right now, and his mother, Alex, and Derek would be destroying her remains with thermite, all while grieving for him. But she didn't because she had no intentions of doing so. Later he would talk to her.

"Come on, John," Alex said softly as she began to lead him out of the room, making sure to give Sarah and Derek a nod of approval before disappearing back upstairs. Sarah glanced back at the cyborg one more time, before grabbing the duffle bag, and dragging Derek along with her.

As she watched the damaged truck pull out of the driveway, Cameron began to run a diagnostics to find the source of these thoughts. She didn't have information on them, and since last night, they seemed far too real to be some sort of memory glitch. It couldn't have been something from before she was reprogrammed. Can it? To find any answers, she started sifting through video logs she recorded after being reprogrammed, in hopes of finding an answer to her dilemma.

 **:SCANNING...**

 **:FILES FOUND: JULY, 22, 2027 - OCTOBER 13, 2027...**

 **:ANALYZING…**

 **:VIDEO PLAYBACK FILE INITIATED: JULY 22, 2027**

 _Everything became bright as she opened her eyes and found herself to be looking up at the cold concrete ceiling. A bright lamp was cast over her, which if she were human, would've made her close her eyes to avoid the sudden exposure to such bright conditions._

 _Immediately, she sat up, and looked around the room. It was fairly dim for the most part, considering the only light source came from the lamp above her. A small group of people stood in front of her, looking at her with intent. Some were soldiers, tightly holding their plasma rifles, ready to shoot on sight if necessary. There was one woman standing amongst the men. She was a middle aged blonde woman who wore an old pair of glasses, and light combat fatigues._

 _And in the middle was a man. He was very muscular, and particularly younger than she expected. His height, and mass made up for it, as well as his hardened face that displayed many scars. He too had a look of fear. But there was no hate. Only confusion, and anxiety._

" _State your name, and model." The man ordered in a stern tone._

 _She complied and spoke. "Cameron Phillips. Template of Kill, model 715."_

 _The man nodded in satisfaction. "Now what is your mission?"_

 _Again, she followed that command, and answered. "Ensure the survival of John Connor."_

" _Good." The man mused in satisfaction. "You may stand." She did so, and got up off the table she was lying on, and stood in front of the group that stood before her._

" _I don't know about this John," The blonde woman mumbled with concern. "She's not her. Why must you have to punish yourself with this?"_

 _The man looked at the woman with a flat face expression. "She's more important than you think."_

 **:VIDEO PLAYBACK FILE COMPLETED…**

That video recording didn't answer any questions, as it was the first time she awoke after being reprogrammed by the Resistance. It was the oldest one she had stored, so she figured that going forward was the best option.

 **:VIDEO PLAYBACK FILE INITIATED: JULY 23, 2027**

 _It was her first day being given free access to the entire base. All she did was roam, getting well acquainted with the entire Tech Com underground base. It was key to ensuring John Connor's survival. Her cpu flashed with tons of alternative escape routes for if the base were to be ambushed by Skynet forces. She took time to construct over two hundred possible events that would require her to get John to safety when it was required._

 _She eventually made her way into one of the many rooms located in the base and found men and women alike, lying on small cots. All seemed wounded one way or another. Some had plasma burns, while others had amputated limbs or just a simple bandage to patch them up._

 _There were a few medics in the process of aiding some of the soldiers, but one in particular beamed across the room at her. She took the time to analyze the woman and found her identity to be Chief Medical Officer: Amanda Williams._

 _According to records that managed to be kept in her system, originally programmed by Skynet, her profile was very simple. Amanda Williams was born in May of 1982, and served five years in the British Royal Army, as a combat medic, before retiring at age 29, and moving to the United States to work in San Francisco, California. However, records of her ended there as Judgement Day had transpired a few months later._

 _She had a very well built relationship with the General, going as far as actually considering herself as a friend of his._

 _Amanda walked up to her, with she giving her an annoyed look. "What do you want?"_

" _I am studying the layout of the entire complex to find the best escape routes for John Connor in case of an attack initiated by Skynet," she answered in monotone._

 _Amanda crossed her arms, and eyed the girl for a long moment. "You should leave. I don't allow machines in my infirmary. Soldiers tend to be more restless when you things are around." With that, Amanda turned on her heels, and walked back to one of the soldiers to continue her work._

 _Taking into account what Officer Williams had told her, she decided to leave the room, and continue her own personal tour of the complex._

 **:VIDEO PLAYBACK FILE COMPLETED…**

 **:WARNING: PROXIMITY ALERT…**

 **:PERIMETER BREACH**

Cameron was interrupted from her file search, when her heads up display flashed red. She looked out the window again, expecting to see the trespasser to be a triple eight or some thief. But instead found the person walking up to their house to be someone quite familiar.

She somewhat relaxed, and walked over to the front door before the person could knock, and opened it. The woman seemed to be surprised that the door immediately opened, but silently greeted Cameron with bright smile.

"Cameron, hey!"

She identified the individual as their next door neighbor: Kacy. She was friendly, although sometimes too snoopy. Sarah had taken a liking to her, and they occasionally spent time together.

"Hello, Kacy." Cameron greeted with a blank face expression. "What are you doing here?"

"Your mother wanted me to drop by and check on you guys. How's everyone holding up?"

"John's sick, and Alex is taking care of him," Cameron lied.

"Is he alright?" Kacy asked with concern.

"Yes. He just has the flu." She knew he did not in fact have the flu, but instead a stab wound. She concluded that it was wise to not say that if they wanted to avoid any unwanted attention to themselves. John didn't want to move yet again.

"Awe, I hope he gets better."

"He will. Alex is a nurse."

Kacy suddenly winced, and placed her hand on her stomach. Cameron looked down at the woman's belly. She almost forgot the fact that their sweet neighbor was also seven months pregnant.

Before Cameron could inquire a question about her pregnancy, she heard footsteps from the staircase, and saw Alex decedending down.

Alex's eye widened in what almost looked like fear, and she quickly rushed her way over to the two, lightly pushing Cameron back. "Hello, Kacy. How are you?"

"Hi, Alex. I'm doing-" Again, she winced, but this time almost fell to her knees. Alex quickly aided the woman, and guided her inside. "Thank you."

"Are you okay?" Alex asked with worry. The two sat on the couch, where Cameron closed the door, and stood on the opposite end of the coffee table, watching Kacy curiously.

"Yeah. It's just...I'm having these weird pains, lately."

"What kind of pains?"

"It's just like a spicy taco kind of pain, but I haven't eaten any spicy tacos. Oh...And I'm bleeding!"

"That's not good. We should get you to a doctor."

"That's why I figured I'd see you. Your mother told me you were a nurse."

Alex almost grimaced at that accusation. Sarah was in fact her mother in cover, but people actually saying it was just so strange. Sure, she more so looked like she could be her daughter; even more than Cameron. Hell, even John was sometimes a word of question, considering he had brown hair and green eyes; whereas Sarah had raven hair and light blue eyes. But undoubtedly, she was definitely his mother, otherwise impersonating Sarah Connor was bound to be excruciating for long periods of time. Even a Terminator would find the task stressful.

But nonetheless, she needed to focus back on the situation at hand. "Kacy. I am just a nurse. I'm not some baby doctor."

"The term is Obstetrician," Cameron corrected.

"Shut up," Alex told the young cyborg. She focused back on the woman, and continued. "I'm not trained for anything like this, so we should get you to a hospital."

"Can you come with me?" Kacy asked hopefully. "I mean, I was gonna ask your mom, but she and your uncle looked kinda busy."

"I don't know, Kacy, I have to look after John and Cameron. They are… ummm. Both grounded. Plus, John is-"

"Sick." Cameron finished, only to receive a long glare from Alex.

But alas, she went along with that little story. Her mission today was to make sure Cameron didn't go haywire and attack John. Especially after the incident that occurred fifteen minutes ago, leaving John alone was probably a terrible idea.

"Oh." Kacy said with defeat and looked at the carpet. "I'll ask Ms. Beatrice from down the street, then."

Alex's eyes widened. Ms. Beatrice was a nice old lady, but the problem was, she had terrible eyesight. That and Alex was sure she had alzheimer's, considering she always called her Anabeth for some odd reason. _Nope, that's not a good idea. That old bat almost clipped me with her car three weeks ago._

"Okay, okay, I'll take you." Alex reluctantly accepted. She looked at Cameron, about to tell her to get John, but ultimately decided against that request. "Let me get John ready, and then we can go, okay?"

Kacy smiled, and nodded. With that, Alex got up, and made her way upstairs to help John get ready. Now in her mind, she was wondering how this whole day could end up turning into a real shit show.

 ** _Los Angeles, California, December 9, 2007: (Hardware store)_**

 _Who knew Home Depot could charge so much for some damn duct tape?_ These were the types of things she would try and occupy her mind with while shopping. It was either that, or listen to Derek rant on about his truck being practically destroyed, and wanting to burn Tin Miss.

The first was a more preferable option.

The two casually walked amongst the aisles of a local hardware store, throwing the necessary items into their own shopping cart. If there was one thing she remembered like the back of her hand, it was when Kyle taught her how to make pipe bombs. They were simple, yet powerful. The only downside was, she and Derek would have to make two separate trips to avoid arising attention to any workers that could potentially bring authorities down on them.

"You really think it was a good idea to leave John alone with that thing?" Derek asked after a long moment.

"At least he's with Alex. If anything were to go wrong, at least she can protect him."

"Maybe while we're here, we can stop by the gardening section and pick up some cinder blocks," Derek grumbled. Sarah just rolled her eyes in response. It seems like in the past few hours, all he's talked about was either his truck or burning Cameron because of what she did to his truck.

After fifteen minutes of putting the necessities into their cart, they were ready to check out. Although Derek did attempt to lead Sarah to the gardening section, she had none of it and went straight for the checkout counter, where a young teenager scanned their items and threw them into plastic bags.

They made their way through the parking lot, and loaded their newly bought items into the back seat, and drove off, with Derek at the helm, and Sarah in the passenger's seat.

"So we're gonna need to stop and get groceries, then at another hardware store for the other items," Sarah explained. There was a lot to do, and it made it the all more difficult when she spent most of it worrying about her son's safety.

"We are also gonna have to stop at the weapons locker, too," Derek added.

"Yes. That too," she nodded simply. There was that, and they had to go retrieve the SUV from the desert. Either that or get a new vehicle. Maybe getting a new one was better considering she didn't know whether or not Derek fixed the minor problem it had rigged in it. That would be an idiotic way to die. Driving a vehicle you knew would explode if you went fast enough. Hollywood sure can be crazy sometimes.

She wondered what John was up to right now. She hoped he was in bed, resting, and not being chase by his cyborg protector again. What Tin Miss did right before they left brought tremendous confusion. Why did she crush that pencil, and have that blank look on her? She almost feared that the cyborg went rouge again. Maybe she will… only time will tell.

 ** _Los Angeles, California, December 9, 2007: (L.A. Good Samaritan Hospital)_**

Well if one thing was worse than sitting in a government owned building with people eying you the whole time; it had to be sitting in a government owned building, being a long dead fugitive of the law. She had to admit it was quite strange being here. Fear of being recognized was her main fear. She had to tread carefully, because the moment she shows any strange behavior, she further risks that danger.

On the bright side, after arriving, Cameron seemed to have had settled down and reverted back to her old self. But that didn't help the fact that she, along with John; were currently in the cafeteria right now, getting food for all of them. Leaving John alone with her was the main concern. The fear of not just letting John die, she worried about; but her promise to Sarah. She promised the woman that she wouldn't let her son out of her sights and that's what exactly she was doing the opposite of.

"You look really ancy."

Upon hearing Kacy speak, Alex had broken from her thoughts and looked at the woman, not exactly hearing what she said. "What?"

"You look very anxious," Kacy clarified more simply. "Have you not been in a hospital before?"

 _Does an underground infirmary count?_ "Ummm, yeah, of course. Who hasn't?"

Kacy rose her eyebrow in uncertainty, but decided to leave it for now. She noticed that Alex was constantly looking at the door. "Are you worried about your brother and sister?"

Alex seemed taken aback by this. "What? No, of course not!"

"You're lying." Kacy pointed out.

Again, Alex couldn't help but feel surprised. _Is she like psychic or something?_ "Why would you assume that?"

"Well first of all, your leg is shaking like you have to pee; and second, you keep looking at that door as if you're expecting a killer robot to come through and slaughter us." Alex nodded in acceptance, but after hearing the last sentence, she looked at the woman with disbelief.

 _Does she know?!_

"I'm kidding, of course," Kacy chuckled in amusement, as she watched Alex's horrified expression. "But seriously, what are you so worried about?"

"It's just…" How could she explain it? Tell her clueless neighbor that Cameron wasn't actually her sister and was actually a malfunctioning cyborg with the possible intent to kill her brother in cover.

"Is it your other sister?"

Alex looked back up at Kacy with confusion. "My other?"

"Your mother told me about your other sister that passed away. Chloe, wasn't it?"

 _Damn, Sarah. And you tell me to keep my mouth shut._ "Er- yes... It's been hard for all of us."

"I can't even begin to imagine what you all went through. I wish I could've met her. If you don't mind me asking… how did she… pass?"

Alex looked at the ground. If she was being honest with herself, she was already over the whole death thing. Sarah, Derek, and even John still were in the process of grieving. Chloe was a sweet, and sometimes sadistic girl, but growing up in a world where death was all too common. Almost spending her entire child and adult life seeing it all happen. She was able to push it back down without so much as a flinch, or a pang of remorse. Tiny things like those were what made her wonder if Skynet did in fact turn her into not just a machine on the outside, but also on the inside.

"She was… shot. Someone broke into our house and killed her."

Kacy looked at Alex with guilt, and placed her hand on top of Alex's. "I'm sorry for bringing it up."

"Oh no, it's fine. Really," Alex forced a smile. "I'm just not very trusting of people out in public. That's all."

"I understand completely." Kacy said with sadness. The two continued to sit in silence for a few minutes where Alex took back to looking at the door again, wondering where the hell John and Cameron were at. It's been too long. More than she was comfortable with. Maybe she should go look for them, and hope for the best that John's throat isn't sliced with a plastic spork? "I don't know if anyone's actually told you this, but you're very pretty."

Alex looked back over at the pregnant woman, and blushed. Never had anyone actually complimented on her looks. At least in an appropriate way. Like that college student who grabbed her ass back at Club Venus and told her she had a great rack.

 _What the hell is a rack anyway?_

"You have your mom's eyes. And hair."

Although she was blushing about the complements Kacy was giving her, she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable at the thought of being compared to Sarah Connor. Sure, Sarah wasn't bad looking at all. Even for a nutjob, she usually kept up with her appearance, and still managed to hide being a trained soldier. But aside from having similar eyes and hair color to Sarah, there was a big difference in personality.

As far as Alex knew, Sarah wasn't her mother. She could barely even remember what her parents were like. What they looked like. The most she ever knew was of her father, who was a cop or something. She had to rely on those small stories Martin used to tell her to calm her down as a child. When the only thing you could do was hide when a patrol unit of Hunter Killers decided to sweep the building you were hiding in.

"Thanks, Kacy. I appreciate it." Alex settled on saying. Best to not arouse any attention. To everyone else, Sarah was her mother, and she had to keep up that cover story. No matter how much it disgusted her.

Luckily, at that moment, both Cameron and John came walking back into the room, both holding plastic to-go boxes, packed with food. They handed the two theirs, and all began to eat in silence. All except for Cameron who only took a french fry from John's box to not look weird for not eating, in Kacy's eyes.

Alex mostly glared at Cameron, silently judging her on taking John's fries. She always dictated that she didn't need to eat unless necessary, so why eat John's share of food?

"I appreciate you all being here. It's scary being in a hospital alone."

"No problem," John smiled. "Just hope this doesn't take too long."

"You and me both," Kacy groaned tiredly.

After a few excruciating minutes of waiting, the doctor finally came in. She was an elderly Asian woman who, by their guess, had the only smile in this place. She greeted the other individuals, and ultimately began her work, and rigged the ultrasound to Kacy's stomach. Everyone else squeezed on the opposite side, so they wouldn't interfere in the doctor's work.

She started by rubbing the ultrasound gel on Kacy's stomach, and began running a tiny device along her belly, until a picture popped up on the tiny monitor. Everyone looked at the screen in curiosity. Cameron's eyes were wider than usual, as she was closest, and looked on in awe.

After about a minute of examining the baby, the doctor spoke. "Okay, so luckily the placenta is still attached. There's no previa. No evidence of major abruption."

"So everything's fine?" Alex asked.

The doctor shrugged truthfully. "I'm not certain. I wanna run a Kleihauer-Betke to rule out any fetal blood cells."

"What does that mean?" Kacy inquired confusingly.

"She wants to make sure that the blood is yours and not the baby's." Cameron instead answered.

The doctor looked at Cameron with confusion, but ultimately smiled. "Guess someone wants to be a doctor."

Alex shook her head, and moved Cameron back as she was too close for comfort. "Yeah, no. She's too clumsy."

"So, what if it's the baby's?" Kacy redirected the question.

"If it is the baby's, then we're gonna have to do an emergency c-section. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, just yet." With that said, the doctor left the room, to file her report.

"That didn't sound good," Kacy grumbled as she began to wipe off the gel from her stomach.

"No, it didn't." Alex agreed.

"Do you know what the gender is?" John asked curiously.

"A boy," Kacy answered. "At least that's what my last visit said."

"Any idea what you are gonna name him?" Alex then asked.

Kacy shrugged. "Not really. I was honestly hoping it would be a girl. I even had a name picked out."

"What was it?" Alex inquired.

Kacy smiled, and looked up at the three. "Alison."

 _Allison! Allison Young!_

Everyone was interrupted when they began hearing hyperventilating coming from right next to them. All they saw was Cameron breathing heavily, and taking a few steps back where she began frantically looking around the room.

Fear began to take hold as he saw her acting strange. She looked terrified. "Cameron, are you okay?"

She said nothing as she looked at him with confusion and looked stepped all the way back, until she was hacked up against the wall. Her eyes dotted across everyone's face, as she shuffled for the door and bolted out of it.

"Cameron!" John shouted. He gave chase to her, and followed her out the doorway. But inevitably, he had to stop, as his recent wound began to sting the more he moved. By that point, she was already pushing past the hospital staff, and had disappeared around the corner. Now he was beyond confused. What the hell happened? She was fine one minute, then the next… she freaked out?

John turned and went back into the room. "She's gone. I couldn't keep up with her."

"Is she okay? What happened?" Kacy asked with utmost confusion.

"I don't know," John said hastily. "Something you said must've gotten to her." By the way Kacy looked down in guilt, he felt like a jerk for wording it like that.

Alex stood up from her chair, and walked over to John. "Kacy, is there someone we can call? I'm sorry, but we need to go find her."

"It's fine," Kacy smiled. "I'll just call the baby daddy. Go make sure your sister is alright."

Alex gave the woman a smile, and with that, the two left the room, and in pursuit of Cameron.

As soon as the two were out of the room, they quickly made their way down the hall, and down to the lobby, asking literally anyone if they had seen a scared teenage girl. Some had pointed that she had ran out of the building, and across the street. That's where they'd have to search.

"What the hell is going on?" John muttered confusingly. It hurt to keep up with Alex, but right now, he was no way focused on his health. At the moment he was actually concerned for Cameron. She's never done anything like this before. Display fear and confusion of where she was. Almost as if she was someone different. She didn't act like a machine, instead acted like something else entirely. Someone else. When he looked into her eyes, she didn't seem to recognize him. They just beamed at him with terror before she had ran away clumsily.

"I don't know, but we need to find her quick." The two crossed the street, and arrived in front of a Wells Fargo Bank, that was moderately populated street wise. No one was in sight. Not even Cameron. "This is gonna be harder than I thought."

"We don't even have a car. How are we supposed to look for her?" John inquired with frustration. The SUV was still abandoned in the desert, and his mother and Uncle had the beaten up Dodge Ram. They had arrived here in Kacy's car, and after leaving her in the hospital, they really had no other choice of transportation.

But inevitably, to his complete surprise, Alex held Kacy's car keys, jiggling them around.

"You gotta be kidding me," John sighed. He wasn't sure if Kacy was gonna be too happy with them borrowing her car.

"Don't worry, we'll return it once we found her," Alex assured. The two turned on their heels and walked back to the hospital's parking garage to retrieve the vehicle, so they could continue their pursuit on the young, confused cyborg.

•••

 **Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait on this chapter update. I hit major writers block on the story, and the length ended up being astronomically long, so I decided to cut it in half and made this into a two part story line.**

 **Next chapter we will see what happens to Cameron, while John and Alex have to pursue her and find her quickly.**

 **I do have to thank ActionfreakXD for the help he has been contributing to my story, so if he's reading this, thank you!**

 **Reviews and constructive criticism is glad appreciated!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Terminator: No Fate But What We Make**

 **Chapter 22**

 _A bright lamp shone on her face, that didn't allow her to see anything. Not the walls, not the ceiling. Not even the damn machine that was interrogating her. She hated it. Every fucking second of being pulled out of her cell and either thrown into this chair, or being forced to stand naked in a room with machines staring at her. It wasn't just sick, it was demeaning to her. The enemy looking at her in her most weakest form. The sight of indecency made her feel defeat. She felt exposed._

" _What's your name?" The machine inquired. It sounded female, yet metallic, and disembodied. It was enough to bring chills down to her spine._

 _But why did it want her name? After months of repeating the same meaningless tasks every waking second. Being probed, and touched in ways she did not enjoy; and now they wanted to know her Goddamn name!?_

" _My name? Why should I tell you?"_

" _If you don't tell us your name, we'll give you one," The machine said blankly._

She chuckled lightly. Although a machine, she knew they didn't intend on hurting her just yet. They weren't done with what they had planned. If anything they were gonna take her back to that damn examination room again and repeat the process, all over again, until she talked.

" _Go ahead. I'm dying to hear it."_

 _She started to regret those words the moment they left her mouth, as suddenly, those all too familiar metal footsteps had stomped close to her, and out of the ridiculous bright lamp light, a T-triple eight forcibly grabbed her arm, and slammed it on the cold metal table. Then some form of gun was hovering above her arm, where a faint red laser began to start searing a brand new prisoner code onto her forearm._

 _Just when she was beginning to think otherwise, the damn metal decided to torture her. The fear, mixed with the burning pain, that shot up from her arm, ran her mouth faster than she thought._

" _Allison! ALLISON YOUNG!"_

•••

 ** _*HONK, HONK!*_**

When reality came back to her, all she saw was a pair of bright headlights heading straight towards her, and a loud screech, as rubber skid against asphalt. In return, she jumped back in startlement.

"Get out of the fucking road, you dumb bitch!" A man shouted in anger, as he started slamming his hand on the car horn.

In fright she scurried away towards the opposite end of the street, just as the vehicle, that almost hit her, sped off, with the man waving his middle finger out the window. Her eyes dropped to the ground, as she began to slowly walk away, and down the she expected people to at least kindly give her leeway, and allow her some space to walk in the direction she was heading, she found it the complete opposite, as she was constantly shoved, insulted for her lack of alertness, and people ramming into her shoulder, causing her to stumble several times.

Why was everyone so mean? So hostile and so selfish? None even stopped to ask her what was wrong and if she was okay. No one cared.

What scared her even more was that everything was so foreign to her. Everything from the birds chirping, to the sounds of construction going on a few blocks away. The sky was blue which was somehow so…. so unnatural to her. People were plentiful. Almost as if she felt they were supposed to be a rarity.

She couldn't even begin to fathom on how far she had ran. It almost seemed like she had been running for at least a few miles without rest. Why was she not tired? Why didn't her chest burn like it should from all the exertion she put on herself? No out of breath, no pain… nothing. She stopped amongst the disrespectful crowd, and placed her hand on her chest. There was no beat to it like she originally expected. Something about her was wrong and she wasn't sure what to think about it- let alone even comprehend what was happening.

If she did in fact have a heart, it'd be beating faster than a drum. Nothing made sense, and she felt like a fish out of water. She looked around anxiously, trying to find something- anything that could help her. She wasn't sure about what exactly. She just didn't like standing here on the street with these people.

She kept on walking as she had been, and slowly made her way until she reached the far end of the city, where the tall skyscrapers ended, and all was left were small restaurants, car washes, gas stations, and even used car dealerships. By that point, the sun was getting lower in the sky, but there was still at least a good few hours of daylight left. Enough for her to sort things out, and find help. But being in a even more foreign part of the city didn't help that anxiety much, as most people had eyed her as she walked along the less busy streets.

Again, that fish out of water feeling resurfaced. Being in a place she had no knowledge of, scared her. Everything about this neighborhood was shady. The people who looked at her as she passed by knew she wasn't from around here. That gave her the excuse to scurry away every time one of these people tried to flag her down.

She kept walking, until she eventually stopped just right outside of what looked like a bar, with motorbikes parked out front. An old neon sign that displayed the words: _Corral Bar_ , were faintly lit up.

This was the first place in this neighborhood that looked well kept and more friendly than the other worn down restaurants. Taking into account that there may be someone to help her, she climbed the small steps, and walked inside. Maybe there was a phone she could use or something?

There weren't much people in the bar, aside from the middle aged bartender, and the two guys talking to him. Neither of which she paid much attention to as she looked around in curiosity.

"You tell us that damn story every damn time, Frank. It gets old, you know."

The bartender only chuckled. "Oh come on, it's a great story! My pops shit himself when that naked guy took his shotgun and sped away on that bike!"

"Yeah, but you never did say what happened to that ever so legendary shotgun he kept," The man sarcastically snickered.

"And I told you, it was stolen." Frank truthfully answered. "He was actually quite upset. That shotgun protected this very bar for years. Now without it, we have gotten into more robberies, and fights lately. Too much for pops to bear."

The small trio was interrupted from their small conversation when they barely noticed the brunette girl standing near the pool table, looking around with confusion. The two men whistled, in amazement at her beauty.

The bartender brushed off his friend's sick minds, and walked around the counter, and up to the girl, who had noticed him and started backing away.

"How old are you, Missy?" He asked with a more approachable tone. He made sure to stand a few feet back as to not rattle her any further.

"I… I don't know." She was anxious. He could tell by the way she seemed to carry self.

"Look, Girly, you may take this is a complement if you choose, but you look too young to be in a place like this. What's your name?"

She looked up in perplexity, taking a long moment to answer. She scoured the depths of her own mind, trying to find the answer he awaited. There was that whisper again. One that answered for her. "It's…. Allison."

"Okay, Allison. Is there anyone you want me to call? Any family or another loved one?"

"I… uhhh." her response faltered as she felt even more awkward with how this man was staring at her with confusion.

"Where are you from, Allison?" The man asked in a different approach.

 _Where is home?_

Her eyes widened in realization, as that voice, in her head, had once again answered her. "Palmdale."

"Palmdale?" The bartender scratched his head in confusion.

"That's where I'm from," Allison affirmed.

"You do realize that you're a little far away from Palmdale, right?" The bartender scratched his head in confusion. "It's literally in the next county."

Before Allison could answer, the back door leading into a kitchen opened, and a girl with black and white hair came walking out. "Okay, Frank, the damn microwave almost electrocuted me again when I was heating up your fucking pizza rolls..." She stopped upon seeing the girl the bartender was talking to.

Allison looked past the man's shoulders at the woman. She had to admit she looked a little strange. Her hair was short, and she wore heavy black makeup and lipstick. Her lips, nose, and even eyebrows were even pierced. Her arms and even from what she could see up to her neck, were covered in tattoos. The only thing about her that seemed more or less normal, was that she wore a simple plaid flannel shirt, and an apron that covered her light blue skinny jeans.

Noticing how Allison looked at her, peaked her curiosity. "Who's she?"

"She says her name is Allison. And she's from Palmdale."

"Palmdale?" She inquired.

The man turned and walked away from Allison and confronted the woman. He led her a few feet away from Allison and spoke with a whisper. "Lizzie, how about you deal with her."

"Me?" Lizzie questioned. "Why do you always want me to do everything, Frank?"

"Well last I checked, you are around her age, and lived there, didn't you?"

"I'm twenty five, and I haven't been to Palmdale in seven years."

"Well you still know more about how to deal with little girls more than me. Just get her outta here, and take her back home or something." The bartender gave one last look at Allison and scoffed. "If she tells you, that is."

"Does that mean I get to clock out early?" Lizzie asked with a smirk.

"If you can get her outta here, I'll give you the rest of the day off," Frank answered, to which Lizzie grinned. "Now leave. I don't want her distracting my customers."

Lizzie scoffed. "Like you even count those two creeps as customers."

"Lizzie." Frank growled in annoyance.

"Okay, okay, I'll get little _Miss Princess_ out of your old smelly bar." Frank nodded in satisfaction, and walked back to behind the counter. Lizzie rolled her eyes, and looked at Allison, as she started back at her with timidness. "Well this is gonna be fun." She then mumbled to herself. "I'm gonna take you home... Allison. Let's go."

As Lizzie led Allison out of the bar, the two men had looked at each other with wide grins spreading across their faces. "I like that girl." The first man mentioned mischievously.

"She's really cute, I'll give her that. But she's not entirely there." The second man opinionatedly replied.

"Aren't they all?" The first man chuckled.

"What do you say, Richard? That Lizzie girl is also cute. Wanna see what they're up to?" The second man then mentioned.

Richard looked back at the door that was closing, and pondered on it for a moment, before setting his beer down, and placing a five dollar bill next to it. "Eh, why not. We're heading out, Frank. We'll see you later!" He then called out to the bartender, in which he just flipped the two off. "Let's get going, David."

•••

Back outside, Allison stood near an old truck as Lizzie was in the process of digging through the pile of trash that overtook most of the seat.

"What are you looking for?" Allison asked curiously.

"I keep a phone book to contact my parents when I need some extra cash and all that bullshit. I hate keeping a stupid cell phone, so I just use pay phones like it's still the fucking eighties." Lizzie answered while still digging through the trash.

"You swear a lot."

Lizzie chuckled at Allison's comment. "Yeah, I fucking figured you'd be all judgemental and all that bullshit, huh princess? Bet your daddy taught you better than to swear or do anything teenagers do?" She immediately regretted those words the moment they left her mouth, as she saw Allison's lip quivering, and her eyes became glossy. "Okay, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset. I just get annoyed when someone asks me too much questions. That's all."

"It's okay," Allison whispered meekly.

Lizzie rolled her eyes, but decided to go back to digging through the trash. "Oh, boy. Frank better give me a raise after this." She continued her long and quite exasperating search, also all while having Allison toss some of the trash in a nearby bin, until she finally found the phone book underneath the seat. "There we go! A good old Palmdale phone book!" She went over to Allison and set the book on the hood of the truck, and began ruffling through pages. "So what's your last name?"

"Young," she answered.

Taking that into account, Lizzie looked in the _Y section_ , and shortly soon after, she found two people with the last name Young. "Yeah, okay I found it. So….. do you know your mother's name? Or your father's?"

Allison shook her head in response. "No. I don't remember."

"How the fuck can you not remember your parent's names?" Lizzie asked in puzzlement. "Hell, I even know my parent's names and I haven't spoke with them since they kicked me out at seventeen!"

"Can we try both?" Allison requested.

"Yeah, sure. Why not." Lizzie shoved the phone book into Allison's arms, and led her to the nearest old phone booth. After having to teach the young girl how to operate the thing, Allison dialed the first number on the list and waited for an answer. Some man answered, but when she asked if he was her father, the man immediately hung up. She tried to call the number one more time, but there was no answer this time.

Allison then decided to dial the second and only number. The line rung for awhile, until someone finally picked up, and a female voice spoke.

" ** _Hello?"_**

Immediately, she perked up upon hearing the woman's voice. "Mom? It's me. Allison."

To say the least, the woman on the other end sounded shocked.

" ** _I'm sorry. You must have the wrong number."_**

 _What was your mother's name? What did she do?_

 _Her name was Claire. She was a music teacher._

Before the woman could end the call, Allison spoke again, this time with persistence. "You are a music teacher. You'd sit for hours and listen to Chopin."

" ** _How did you know any of that?"_** The woman inquired in a fearful tone.

"I'm your daughter. Allison. Please, mom. You have to remember."

 ** _"There has to be some mistake. I'm sorry, but I don't have a daughter. Not yet. Very pretty name, though, Allison."_**

Lizzie only watched, as Allison dropped the phone, and backed away from inside the booth. Her eyes began to shed tears, and she sat on the curb, where she began to sob into her hands. "She didn't even know who I was."

Seeing the distraught that the young teenager was in, Lizzie walked over to the dangling phone and picked it up, where she put it up to her ear. Surprisingly, the person on the other line was still present, and didn't hang up. "Look here, bitch. Throwing your daughter away like that is a dumb move! You should be happy to have someone like her, and not throw her out on her ass in this dangerous world! I hope you rot in hell!" With not enough time for the woman to even respond, Lizzie hung up, and walked over to Allison. She sat down next to the crying girl and wrapped a single arm around her shoulder in a comforting manner. "I'm sorry. Parents are assholes. Mine did the same thing to me when I was your age."

Allison continued to sob loudly, in which she started to sob into Lizzie's lap. To her this was quite uncomforting. But to be honest, maybe that was her good deed for today. She absentmindedly began to stroke Allison's hair, trying to somewhat comfort the crying brunette, while also trying to think about what she was gonna do.

After a while, Allison's cries subsided very little, and she sat back up. Her eyes were red, and she had dried streaks running down her cheeks. At least she could say she had a conscience, because looking at Allison's sadness made her heart ache. Then an idea popped into her head. Well, at least something she knew would make her feel better in a time like this. Lizzie stood up, and held out her hand for Allison to take.

"You know what. Maybe some ice cream will cheer you up?" Allison slightly smiled, and took Lizzie's hand, in which she was lifted onto her feet. However, not without Lizzie showing strain. "Holy shit! You are heavier than you look!"

Allison giggled at Lizzie's little humorous claim, and with that, she followed the woman to the truck where they left the bar parking lot.

As they sped off, they failed to notice a car start up, and follow right behind them.

 ** _Zeira Corporation:_**

 _After much suspense, the shooting in Venice Beach is still under heavy investigation by the L.A. police department, after an unknown female was reported by witness to have made an attempt on a young man's life yesterday her in Los Angeles._

 _One eye witness has reported to me that he saw the entire thing. They stated that the woman reportedly, and I quote, "Had a strange metal arm that fired a laser beam."_

 _We're not sure what to make of this report, even as going as far as to credit this as fact. Although many have reported the same thing, only speculation can be given as the police have not come out with further information on this investigation as to what occurred here yesterday._

It seemed like even the television news was still up in arms about this incident. Conspiracies, and eyewitnesses with their cam recorders had caught some, if not enough evidence to kickstart theories into popping up all over the media.

This was a problem. Just like what she said to Ellison earlier this morning: The world isn't ready to know the truth yet. They needed more time to come up with something that wouldn't go through any Government's mind if they were to realize that killer cyborgs existed. Surely man would try and recreate them- specifically Skynet.

Humans were a selfish, reckless, and violent species. In their thousands years worth of history, they have been known to do more worse to their own kind than good. Even in this time, she knew that man was capable of the same thing their primitive ancestors were. She needed to get to the bottom of this quickly before the Government decided to butt in.

Catherine Weaver shut the television off, and turned in her office chair, where she then grabbed her phone, and dialed her assistant. "Victoria, would you mind contacting Mr. Ellison. I need to speak with him, urgently."

" ** _Yes, Ms. Weaver."_**

After a few minutes, former FBI Agent Ellison came walking in Weaver's office with an confused expression written on his face. "You wanted to speak to me, Ms. Weaver?"

"Have you been watching the news lately?" She asked simply.

"Uhhh, no. I haven't." Ellison scratched his head. "Thought I was on the job right now. Never occurred to me that I was even allowed to."

"Take a look here, then." She turned back on the television, and found the same news channel where the same news anchor gave the same report on the Venice Beach incident. He was stunned to say the least. It was said that a teenage female was chasing a young teenage boy through the pier, and the beach. What had him even more surprised, was the fact that they kept mentioning a metal arm that shot lasers. This was no accident. There was an answer to this. "By my guess it's a possibility that this girl with the metal arm is the female machine that killed your SWAT team, Mr. Ellison?"

"I… I don't know for sure. I know for certain that there were two of them at the bank with John Connor and Sarah Connor the day they died."

"I'm well aware of that. But for now, you still believe that John Connor and Sarah Connor are dead. Am I wrong?" Ellison looked at the blankness his boss had on her face. He reluctantly nodded in agreement, to which she frowned. "You're lying."

"Why would you assume that?" Ellison asked suspiciously.

"I've only known you for a few days, and yet, I can almost read you like a book. You have morals, and are quite the religious type. Lying is considered a sin, Mr. Ellison."

Ellison sighed in defeat. She is definitely smarter than he mistook her for. Maybe it was he had a tell? If he did, he sure as hell didn't know what it was. But alas, lying isn't an option. Considering that she knew he was lying. "When I was at the Bureau… I saw things that are best left untouched upon. Like knowing that machines exist. The very thing we are talking about right now that killed men I was responsible for. My fellow Agents that I've known for years were murdered in the most horrendous ways possible and I have to live with that every night when I go to bed, to the time I wake up. So yes, Ms. Weaver, I was lying. But not because I was hiding something, but because I wanted to run from it."

"I didn't know this was such a burden on you." Weaver said with surprise. "But I want the truth."

Ellison sighed heavily but agreed to speak. "A few months ago, I discovered that Sarah Connor was alive. One of her machines were spotted at a mall, confronting the machine that slaughtered my men."

"How are you so sure?" Weaver inquired. "Just because one of her machines were alive, doesn't mean she also is."

"If you saw what the bank, that they blew up, looked like, then you would understand where I'm coming from. They should be dead, but they aren't. If these machines can get away unscathed, then I'm sure they got out somehow. More specifically I'm sure they got Sarah and John Connor out safely."

"I understand Mr. Ellison." Weaver almost immediately apologized. "You had your reasons for hiding this information, and I don't blame you. But don't lie to me again. We are partners and partners never hold back useful information."

"If Sarah Connor is surely alive, then she could be of unique interest in the coming months. I suggest you look into finding them discreetly, so I may speak with them. When the time is right, of course. But for now, I want you to go to Venice Beach and look into this case further. It could very well help us find the machine you are looking for. The one that killed your men."

Mr. Ellison nodded in acceptance to his orders, and left the office.

 ** _Crystal Peak, July 23, 2027: (Resistance Headquarters)_**

Everything began to come back to her as she opened her eyes. Her side felt sore, as well as her face. She slowly sat up, and looked around the room she was in. Immediately she recognized the place. It was the base infirmary. Why was she here? Why was she lying on one of the beds, and not helping any other soldiers?

Then she remembered. Everything that happened came flooding back to her. "Allison!"

Across the room, Amanda Williams noticed Alex's panic attack, and ran over to her, and settled her back onto the bed. "Alex, I need you to calm down."

"Where is she?" Alex demanded, also wincing in pain.

"What are you talking about?" Amanda inquired.

"You know who I'm talking about, Amy!" Alex snapped. "Where is Allison!?" Amanda didn't answer, and instead her gaze staggered around the room, trying to find an answer. Taking this into account, Alex stood up, with Amanda not being able to stop her. She began to limp to the exit, and soon the hallway.

Amanda closely followed, trying to reason with her. "Alex, you need to rest!"

"I need to see her. Where is she?" Alex asked, not taking her eyes away from the direction she was walking.

"Alex, will you bloody listen to me!?" Alex reluctantly stopped, and turned to look at the blonde woman. "What do you remember?"

"What hell do you mean by _'what do I remember?'_ " Alex blared in confusion. "I remember seeing Allison! She came back!"

Amanda's face went pale, and her eyes fell. "Alexandra."

Her voice became more frantic and fearful. "Where is she, Amy?"

The blonde couldn't seem to find the words before the irritated hybrid turned and limped further down the corridor before ending up at the base's command center. "Alex, wait!" She gave chase hoping to continue in her attempts to get through the woman. But all was futile as as soon as she stepped foot inside, she saw whom looked like Allison, stiffly walking behind General John Connor, alongside another a T-800.

Watching that stiff posture- that blank stare that bored at her when she stared back. There was no soul. There was no life in those eyes that looked at her. No happiness to see that she was still alive and here right now. It wasn't her. Who would think that she'd ever compare her to a machine. But that's what she did. Comparing her best friend to the very machine that stood at her side, obediently following John.

Could she say that she felt sorrow? That she felt sadness for the loss of her friend? If there was a word to describe what she was feeling, it had to be pain. A pain that struck worse than having your whole body dissected and put into a machine copy, to infiltrate Resistance bunkers. A pain that hurt her heart to see. If someone were to crush her heart right now…. she wouldn't be able to tell the difference until she went offline.

"Allie?" Alex quavered, and her eyes became misty. If anything felt worse than seeing a machine that wore your best friend's face, it had to he the man it followed. He kept the fucking machine that looked like his own daughter. It was sick. Alex looked around the room, and found an on guard soldier, with his plasma rifle slung around his shoulders, still at the ready for any situation.

Almost if she no longer cared for the consequences of what she was about to commit by doing this, she lurched out, grabbing the soldier's rifle, and tearing it from its straps, before aiming the weapon at the machine.

Her finger wrapped around the trigger, tightly squeezing as she aimed directly at the machine's head, beginning to already envision the smouldering pile of scrap that was to come.

However it didn't. When she pulled the trigger, a large mass had wrapped its arms around Alex, and fell on top of her, and a large orb of blue, purplish plasma had hit the ceiling. As she fell, the plasma rifle had slipped away from her grasp and slid a few feet away. When she was on the cold concrete ground, she looked up to see red eyes giving off that same stoic glare.

One of John's reprogrammed T-700s had stopped her from eliminating another machine. It was ironic, really. But this time she couldn't laugh. She just stared at John and the machine as they walked away, and over two dozen Resistance soldiers surrounded her.

•••

Alex broke from her deep thoughts, when the door opened and John sat back into the vehicle next to her. That daydream hit out of nowhere. A reconstruction of that day she awoke from her small coma and found Allison to not be Allison anymore. She wondered why did it have to happen to her? Such a sweet and innocent girl had to be murdered and replaced with a machine.

"So the shopkeeper said he saw a girl almost get hit by a car and headed north. Our best bet is that is Cameron." John explained while putting on his seat belt. He only stopped when he noticed Alex's blank stare. He almost feared, that in some way, she was going off the deep end like Cameron did. "Alex? Are you okay?"

Alex looked at John, and nodded with a forced smile. "Yeah. Just some old memories, that's all."

"Alright, let's go then." John motioned at the steering wheel in front of Alex. She complied and started the vehicle, where John began giving her directions to which direction the shopkeeper pointed him in.

After about fifteen minutes of driving, and asking people on the street if they saw a teenage girl, they were eventually led to a small bar, located just outside the city. Both of them left the vehicle, and went inside, where the bartender walked up to them.

"May I help you?" He asked, eying both up and down.

"We're looking for our sister." John answered. "Brunette, seventeen years of age. About 5'6?"

"Yeah, I've seen her. Allison." The bartender simply nodded. "Came in here all delusional, and shit. Almost didn't know who she was."

Upon the words leaving the man's mouth, Alex looked at him with disbelief. John barely noticed her face expression, and looked back at the bartender. "Did she say where she was going?"

"Well, no. I had one of my employees take her home. Lizzie Mathias. If your sister isn't all whacko like how she was in here, then you should probably find her back home."

"Thank you for your time." Both John and Alex made their way back to the exit, and back outside. As they made their way to the vehicle, John couldn't help but notice that still lingering blankness on Alex's face. "Are you sure you're okay?" John then asked.

"You already asked me that, John." Alex said with annoyance.

"And I'm asking again. Are you okay?"

"It just seems like my past is coming back to haunt me today. That's all." Alex answered with reluctance.

"Anything about your past you wanna tell me about, specifically?" John then inquired patiently.

Alex looked at the steering wheel, and took a deep breath. "I think I may know why Cameron went a little crazy."

"What do you mean?"

Again, another deep breath. "I mean, I do know why Cameron went crazy. It's what Kacy said."

"Allison." John confirmed, to which Alex nodded. He heard it to, but what did it mean? Even the bartender mentioned it, which meant that it was not a coincidence. Alex knew something and he wanted to know. "What does the name have to do with anything?"

"It's not the name, it's who's it is, John." Alex corrected with seriousness.

"Who? You knew an Allison?"

"Yeah. There was this girl who I was really close with, and so were you. Her name was Allison Young."

"Why is this the first I'm hearing about this?" John asked with exasperation.

"Because I didn't want to talk about it, okay!?" Alex unexpectedly snapped. John was slightly taken aback by Alex's sudden outburst. "Look, I'm sorry. But I'm the only one left that can currently talk about it, and I decided to leave it in the past- future- you know what, I don't know where I left it! I just didn't wanna ever bring it up again."

"Can you tell me about her?" John asked with hopefulness.

"I really don't, but sure," Alex hesitantly agreed. "Allison was… well she was your daughter. Not biological, but you took her in when her parents were killed, and raised her. I only met her when she was around thirteen and she was one of the first, aside from you, that knew what I really was. Taking that into account, we immediately became almost inseparable. Every day we spent time together, and ran patrols together. She taught me how to work Skynet equipment, and how to become a better person. She was my best friend… And I loved her."

"Okay. This isn't telling us anything that can help though, Alex." John noted.

"Really?" Alex mused in annoyance. "Then how about this? There is a reason why Cameron looks like the way she does! There is a reason why she looks like a beautiful teenage girl, and not a stupid T-800 or T-888!" John stared at Alex with utter disbelief. But that wasn't all. "Cameron killed my best friend, and I couldn't do anything about it, John! She looked so helpless, and all I could do was watch a fucking recording that was two weeks old! She wears her face, and I have to live with that, every waking second of my existence because you saw something special about her! You weren't like me and feared what was created. You didn't have the desire to kill the very thing that wore your daughter's face and blood on her hands! You instead reprogrammed her and had her be your bodyguard!"

John was Crestfallen. Never had he even began to wonder about the nature of Cameron's construction; where her face came from. Who's it originally was. To top it all off, Alex knew the girl whom Cameron was based off of. She was her best friend and Cameron was responsible for her death. There was a reason why Alex always hated her, but he could never quite put his finger on the general reason. But now he knew, it was a pretty big revelation. But there was another unanswered question. "So what? You think Cameron thinks that she is Allison?"

"I don't know, John!" Alex truthfully admitted. "Cameron was designed as a sleeper agent, which would make sense if her memory wasn't scrubbed when she was reprogrammed. Technically she shouldn't even know about Allison's existence. She only knows about it due to future John always talking about her and all that kind bullshit. But she never knew her personally after the files were erased."

"But is it possible that Future me didn't erase the files?"

"What? Of course not. What are you saying, John?"

"I'm saying that maybe it's possible that if she was indeed my _adopted daughter,_ keeping her memory for some certain project was his intention all along? If so, then Cameron knowing about Allison, could have probably triggered those memories and that's why she glitched."

"That's just ridiculous." Alex scoffed.

"Is it though? If she's going around claiming that she's Allison then there must be a reason, Alex. This can't just be a coincidence."

"How about we find her, and then we can continue this conversation, hmm?" Alex asked in exasperation. John didn't want to, but accepted her wish and stopped questioning Alex, and sat there in silence. Alex started the car and the two continued their pursuit on Cameron, wherever she may be.

•••

Allison curiously looked at her melting ice cream cone, as she enjoyed it's taste. Never has she tried anything like it before, yet it tasted so… familiar. As if she had tried chocolate ice cream before. She wasn't sure what to relate it to, so she just left it at that and continued to try and catch the melting cream as it rushed off the cone and started dripping on her fingers and table.

"Haven't your parents taught you manners." Lizzie chuckled. She handed Allison a napkin, indicating that she clean her hands and face.

"I don't know." Allison truthfully admitted. "They abandoned me so I don't remember being taught anything."

"Still is pretty messed up, if I say so." Lizzie muttered. "But hey, if you don't have a place to stay, there is this halfway house I used to go to when I first moved down here."

Allison took that suggestion into consideration, but was cut off from asking further about the topic, as more of the melting ice cream began to pour on her fingers. "Why does it keep melting?"

"That's because you don't eat it fast enough." Lizzie snickered. "That, and Sonic ice cream is known for melting quicker than your hopes and dreams." She set down her milkshake, and took another napkin, where she helped Allison wrap it around the cone. "There you go." She smiled in satisfaction, and went back to her ice cream.

Allison smiled, and saw as any leaking ice cream had fell on the napkin instead of he fingers. Now she could enjoy without the worry of being too messy. That is, if her face didn't get covered.

Lizzie couldn't help but burst into laughter, at the sight of the cute girl look like she viciously attacked the cone with no remorse. "Damn, girl. You are a pig!"

After they both finished, they threw away what they didn't eat, into the trash bin. "You go the bathroom and wash your face and hands, while I go pay." Allison nodded in acceptance and walked off, in search for the nearest bathroom, while Lizzie talked with the manager about trying to get a discount on the food they bought.

After she was done washing her hands and face, Allison dried off, and exited the bathroom, where she began making her way back to Lizzie. With the sun getting low in the sky, she began wondering what she was gonna do about the coming night. Where she would stay. Although Lizzie was nice to her, she had a feeling that staying with her wasn't an option. Maybe Lizzie would take her to that halfway house she mentioned?

On the way back to Lizzie's truck, she accidentally bumped into a man who looked at her with surprise. What caught Allison off guard was when the man spoke with relief, and happiness. "There you are!"

"Who are you?" Allison inquired with timidness. She looked at the man, but didn't know who he was, and couldn't put a name to a face. She never seen him, nor heard of him before.

"It's me. Rob." Allison only continued to look at the man in utter confusion. "Your brother?" he clarified more simply.

"I have a brother?" She asked with the tilt of her head.

"Yeah. Do you not remember me?"

Allison slowly studied the man's face. His hair was dark as hers, and so were his eyes. But she wasn't exactly sure who he was, considering her mother had practically disowned her a few hours ago. Or was it always? Maybe that was why she couldn't remember anything?

The man held out his hand, and smiled. "Come on, sis. I'll take you home, and we can talk to mom."

Allison looked at the man's hand, and back up to his face. He had a sincere smile, and looked as if he planned on helping her. She didn't remember if she had a sibling, but if this man was indeed her brother, then it was wise if she follow him. She took his hand, and he led her back to his car, where she sat in the front seat, next to him, as they drove off.

Meanwhile, Lizzie exited the Sonic kitchen, angry that the manager didn't cut her a break this time, and give her that discount on the food. Now she would have to wean a few dollars off of Allison if she was to even afford the ice cream that she agreed to pay. She waited by the chairs for a few minutes, looking around at the cars, while she waited for Allison.

A few more minutes passed, and Allison didn't show up. _Where the fuck did she go?_ Feeling agitated, Lizzie started walking to the restroom, where she knocked a few times. "Allie? What the hell is taking you so damn long?"

There was no response.

"Dammit, Allie!" Lizzie groaned and started banging on the door. "If you don't say anything I'm leaving you here!" Suddenly, the door opened, and an old lady walked out, glaring at her, and started cursing under her breath as she left to her car. "Old hag."

She was surprised to find that Allie wasn't in the restroom. She was out for awhile, so where was she? Lizzie made her way back to her truck, where she checked if Allie was waiting for her there, but was again dumbfounded to find that she wasn't there. _Where the hell did she go?_

Lizzie looked back at the outside tables and benches, but found no one there, aside from a few people; whom of which were not Allison. Now she was starting to get extremely worried. She was given the responsibility of this girl, and she was nowhere in sight. She turned up missing.

Lizzie was suddenly interrupted when she saw a green sedan drive past her, and saw Allison at the passenger side, as it drove off. Sadly, she recognized the vehicle, and now fear overtook her, as she knew who had followed them and just took the one girl she was charged with keeping a close eye on.

"God dammit!" Lizzie rushed to her car, and started it, where she pulled out of the Sonic parking lot, in pursuit of the vehicle.

•••

Meanwhile, not too far away, John and Alex were still hot on Cameron's trail. It had been a few hours since they had lost her, and it seemed like that the sun was already on its way to setting, marking the end of yet another day. Alex was beginning to wonder what was up with these day long search parties. Why couldn't it be easier and simple to find someone? Well… last time it was under more dire and extreme circumstances as John was missing and Cameron was out for his head.

This time the tables have definitely turned. It was them who were looking for their cyborg companion, wherever she may be. John was honestly surprised that his mother didn't call yet. Surely she would have checked in or something, right?

Suddenly he felt his phone begin to vibrate in his pocket. He quickly fished it out and saw the recipient. His mother was calling right when he was wondering as to why she went most of the day without.

 _Speak of the devil._ John answered and put the phone up to his ear. "Hello?"

" ** _Hey, I'm just checking in. How's everything at home?"_**

"It's uhh…" John looked at Alex who was glaring at him, indicating that he best not disclose what they are currently up to. "Good. I'm just laying on the couch, and Alex is looking out for me. It's all good here."

" ** _What about the Tin Miss? She still... wonky?"_**

It was almost if she knew what was going on, yet didn't at the same time. He wondered if she was suspicious of his lie. Maybe it wasn't good enough? Maybe she and Derek were already home and she just wanted to see whether or not he was lying to get out of trouble. He wasn't entirely sure, and that scared him. "No, she's all good now. We think maybe she just had a little…. glitch."

" ** _If she keeps glitching, then you know what has to happen, John."_**

Almost as if what his mother said had stung, John winced and spoke with irritation. "She's okay, she is just experiencing changes. That car bomb did a number on her, so something in her programming is now different."

" ** _I sure hope you're right. We'll be home in an hour or two. Love you, John."_**

With that, John hung up, and tossed his phone onto the dashboard. "Well that's just great."

"What is it?" Alex inquired, not taking her eyes off the road.

"Mom and Derek are gonna be home in a few hours." John explained with haste. "We need to move fast."

"I really wish it were that simple. We might have to call it a night and just hope that she comes to her senses and returns back at the safehouse."

"You saw her, Alex." John strongly pointed out. "Something spooked her, and I looked into her eyes. She looked at me as if I was a stranger to her. _We_ have to find her."

Alex didn't agree with John's current persistence, but accepted. The two drove for about thirty minutes, before John grabbed his stomach, and gritted his teeth. Alex looked over, and notice his pain. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Just it's just the medicine is wearing off."

"Here, I brought some extra painkillers. They're in my purse." Alex began to take her eyes off the road, as she began to dig for the bottle of medicine.

"Alex, maybe I should look for it?" John suggested.

"Relax. I can handle giving you your medicine." Alex insisted.

"Alex!"

"What!"

Before she could register another thought, she saw the oncoming vehicle in front of her, and immediately stomped on the brakes, with the car coming to an immediate halt, as a loud crash was heard. The two recovered and looked through the front windshield, and saw a car stopped right in front of them, where it pulled up slightly, before someone got out. Alex and John piled out, and rounded the vehicle to the front, where they saw that the front bumper to Kacy's car had a huge dent in it.

"Sonofabitch." Alex said under her breath.

"How are we gonna explain this to Kacy?" John asked in exasperation. "How are we gonna even explain this to mom."

"Hell if I know-"

Alex was interrupted as a young woman looked at the front of her vehicle, then at the two with anger. "You Goddamn morons! I don't have fucking insurance!"

"Sorry?" Alex shrugged her shoulders. The woman looked very strange if she had to admit.

"Sorry?" The woman scoffed. "I'm out here looking for someone I am currently responsible for; and to top it all off, I get rear ended, for you to only say ' _sorry_?!'"

"We're looking for someone, too." John tried explaining. "Our sister went missing and we've been looking for her all day."

"Who are you?" The woman asked.

"John…. Baum." He hesitantly introduced. "This is Alex." He then indicated at Alex who just waved. While being introduced, Alex took this small window of opportunity, and slightly bent down to bend the dented bumper back into place, making it look good as when they first got ahold of it. "Our sister, Cameron Baum, ran away and we're just trying to find her. Have you seen her?"

"No, I haven't." The woman shook her head. "I know an Allison, though. Probably not who you're looking for, of course. She's like super cute, has brown eyes and hair. Anyway, you owe me some serious cash for rear ending my vehicle, so I suggest you do the right thing before-"

"Wait, wait, wait, hold up." Alex cut off the woman from continuing. "You said Allison. She had brown hair and eyes?"

"Uhh, yeah….. what're you-"

"Where is she?" Alex demanded.

"I lost her at the nearest Sonic and have been tailing the car she was in for over an hour already. Well that is before you assholes decided to hit my truck, which you are definitely paying for the repairs by the way!"

"Yeah whatever." Alex just waved off. "We need to find her. Where did the vehicle go?"

"Actually I do know where the vehicle is going. There are these nasty guys at the bar that are regulars. They hang out at this old apartment complex just outside the city."

"Can you give us the address?" John asked with hopefulness.

The woman pondered on John's request for a short moment before coming up with an answer. "It's easier if I show you," she shook her head in disagreement. "But you're definitely still paying me back after I help you out."

"We'll think about it." Alex simply settled for answering. The woman didn't seem too happy, but started making her way towards her truck. "Wait! What's your name?" She then asked.

"Lizzie. Now let's get a move on before it gets dark!" Alex and John didn't need to be told twice, and got back into their vehicle, where they began to follow this Lizzy to the outskirts of the city, just as the sun was barely over the horizon.

"Do you trust this girl?" John asked with a neutral expression.

"She is the woman that the bartender mentioned, so for the meantime I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt." Alex agreed. "But if not… I'm gonna keep my gun off safety just in case."

That was an answer John wanted to hear. After what happened with Chloe and Cameron trying to kill him, he didn't trust just anyone. At any time they could turn against you and stab you in the back. Until he knew this girl was telling the truth and had good intentions on helping them, he wasn't gonna trust anyone but Alex.

Sticking with that mindset, John took the bottle of painkillers from Alex's purse and took a few to help the pain in his abdomen. He needed to be focused for what was to come next.

•••

Both vehicles came to a stop, and all piled out where an old apartment complex awaited them. It looked mostly trashed, and only a few lights were on. The whole scene looked erie, and made everyone feel uncomfortable. "So this is the place?" Alex asked.

"Sadly yes." Lizzie nodded.

"How did you even know about this?" John asked with suspicion arising.

"Let's just say I've hit rock bottom more times than one." She answered simply, and opened the gate. The two followed, and walked into the main courtyard, where an old, beaten water fountain lay with no water pouring from it. Instead it had a murky, stagnate, green color to it.

The ground was littered with trash, and the walls were covered with graffiti. By the looks of the inhabitants, they appeared to be in the poverty level, and wore raggedy clothing and saw outside their dorms. They all glared at the new arrivals, which certainly made the three more uncomfortable to be here. John was just relieved that if anything went bad, Alex was here to help him. From what he could tell, she could hold her own against Cameron for awhile, until being rendered incapacitated.

The two began to knock on doors, trying to find the person who took Cameron, and asked each individual. So far there was nothing, and all seemed lost. Maybe Lizzie just led them here to throw them off their trail? She wasn't exactly sure, but there was a ditch they passed by, that Alex was curious to use.

As all was about to be given up, and they were only set on checking one more dorm, the three immediately looked up, as a loud crash was heard above them, and a man came falling right in front of them, looking like a bloody mess. They all lepted back, just as the body landed with an audible thud being heard. Lizzie covered her mouth in horror upon seeing who it was, and what just happened.

"Oh my God!"

"Yup…. Cameron is definitely in there." Alex confirmed. She stepped over the dead body, and used her right foot, to easily kick down the door in front of them, and the three made their way up the stairs, until they came to a closed door. Despite Lizzie's protests to enter the room, Alex, and neither did John listen, and the two got ready for whatever was on the other side.

 ** _5 Minutes Earlier:_**

The door to the apartment opened, and two people entered inside, along with Allison behind them. One of the men closed the door behind them, and locked it. Allison had a good look at the apartment. It didn't look nearly as trashy as the exterior. It was actually quite nice and lavish, aside from a few empty beer cans on the coffee table.

"So where's mom at?" Allison asked nervously. After what she heard her say on the phone, she feared that she wouldn't be accepted here and would have to go back to being lost and have no home. She didn't want that.

"Take a seat and we'll get her." Rob acknowledged, and went into the next room.

Allison took a seat on the couch, and sat down with a stiff posture as she curiously looked around the whole room, waiting for Rob to return. She saw a shelf with some photos on it, which for some reason, she was able to see them all clearly from where she was sitting. None of them had her in it. Not even a woman that would be her mother was there.

One of other men took a seat next to Allison and slumped back. Allison felt uneasy when he put his arm on the backrest, directly behind her, and smiled.

"You don't look like my brother. Are you a friend of his?" Allison inquired.

"Uhh, sure." He chuckled.

"Why isn't my photo up there?" She then asked.

"What do you mean?" He inquired confusingly, looking at the shelf filled with picture frames.

"If this is where I live then why am I not in any photos here?" She pointed again.

"Relax, babe, you're gonna be okay." As she felt something touch her breast, Allison immediately sprung up to her feet, and backed away from the man, just as Rob came walking back into the living room, holding a bottle of Gin, and three shot glasses.

Rob looked in confusion as Allison was staring at him with pleading eyes, as she backed away from his friend. "What's going on here?"

"He's touching me…" She answered shyly.

"David, you said she was willing. I don't see that she's willing at all." He replied angrily.

"Relax, Richard. She'll come around."

Allison looked at the man now whom she now knew was David, instead of Rob, and glared at him. "You said your name was Rob?"

"Well I figured we couldn't get you here by telling the truth, so we lied." David shrugged. He set down the shot glasses, and poured three shots, before setting down the bottle of Gin, and handing one to Allison. "Trust me, after a few of these you'll loosen up."

Allison responded by smacking the glass out of David's hand, with it shattering on the wall next to them. "I don't want any!"

David grabbed his wrist, as the slap that Allison inflicted, stung with disbelief, and now throbbed. "You bitch! What kind of slap was that!?"

Richard stood up from the couch, and walked around Allison in a predatory manner, as he looked her up and down. "Trust me, babe. This'll be easier if you have a few drinks, then you'll be more in a fun mood."

The way that Richard looked her up and down sent a chill down her spine, as he was even licking his lips in anticipation. She shook her head and backed further away from the man. "I wanna leave. Now."

In frustration that his plan wasn't working, David shoved Allison onto the couch, and both surrounded her. "You're not going anywhere!" he pulled out a knife to further claim his statement, and moved closer towards Allison while Richard moved in just opposite of him, from around the coffee table.

Richard and David both grabbed Allison's arms, and began forcibly taking off her denim jacket, before successfully tearing it off. They then moved on to the next piece of clothing; that being her dress.

 _You shouldn't have run. You're just making things worse for yourself._

"NO!"

Allison cried out in misery, and brought her foot up at David who was still attempting to remove her clothes, and kicked him hard enough in the chest to go flying into the picture shelf. Richard looked at David in surprise as this petite girl had just kicked a man twice her size far enough for him to break a wooden shelf.

With Richard distracted, and David recovering from the defender, Allison took this opportunity and ran for the door as fast as she could. However, the door was locked by a few locking pins. She tried to undo them as fast as she could, in attempts to get away, but was immediately caught off guard when she was thrown back, and landed on the wooden floorboards.

"Like I said you stupid bitch!" David snarled in anger. "You're not leaving until I Goddamn say so!" He brandished his knife, and forced Allison back onto her feet, where he and Richard dragged her back to the couch to finish what they started. Tears ran down her face as they almost had the dress over her chest, and another road was crossed.

 _Please help me!_

 _No one can help you, Allison. Only yourself._

Allison's eyes suddenly went blank, and as her purple bra was exposed, she snatched David's hand, that held the knife, and shoved it into his neck, allowing her dress to fall back to where it was originally, and allowing her view of Richard.

Richard stood up and watched as his best friend was bleeding out, due to the large blade that embedded itself into his jugular, causing blood to spray everywhere. What happened next was too fast to comprehend, as a foot had met with his chest, and he went flying over the sofa, and crashing out the window behind him.

After it was quiet, reality came back to Allison, whom looked in horror at what lied before her. David who was immediately dead, and blood staining the floor underneath him. The shattered window that had traces of torn fabric and blood. She did this, yet couldn't control it. As if being sexualy assaulted by these men, triggered something in her. A defense mechanism of some sort.

She fell on her bottom, and shuffled back into a corner, and began to sob into her arms, silently, as what had transpired had ran through her mind again, and again, without end. As almost it were replaying and she was forced to watch it all again like it had just happened. It was horrible. Every single moment of it. She killed even though these men were planning on doing something very horrific to her in the first place.

The door was kicked down, and Alex, John, and Lizzie came rushing into the living room, with Alex having her firearm drawn. What greeted them made Lizzie's face turn green, and Alex and John looked in disbelief. The window was certainly smashed, which brought truth to their assumption on this being the right room. There was a dead man lying on the floor, with a knife protruding from his neck, and blood surrounded every square inch of his body.

And in the far corner of the room, was the one who they were looking for, sitting with her face buried in between her legs as she hugged them with her arms. John's heart sank in relief, and he ran to Cameron, and knelt down in front of the sobbing cyborg. With no intention of startling or scaring her John gently placed his hand over hers. At his touch she looked up and her eyes widened immediately as she pulled away and pressed her back against the wall.

"Hey, hey. Don't worry. I'm not here to hurt you." John assured her.

"As if you can really hurt her." Alex scoffed under her breath. But John heard it. He clenched his jaw in anger but decided not to respond, as it would most likely only end up in a heated argument or worse.

John gently took her much smaller hands in his and squeezed them tightly. "I will never hurt you. I can never hurt you. You can trust me." John said with such sincerity that it made Alex cringe slightly. It was only because he was showing affection to a machine of all things.

For some reason Allison didn't pull away from his grasp. She let him hold her hands. "I….. I am sorry. I killed them." Allison began to sob again.

"Hey. Don't cry. What did they do to you?" John asked softly.

"They… they tried to take advantage of me. Tried to…." She couldn't say anything more between sobs, as she could only point in random directions on her body.

John clenched his teeth in anger as his face turned red. His green eyes which were always caring showed nothing but hate and rage. He spotted Cameron's torn jacket lying on the floor. He retrieved it and gently draped it over her shoulders. "Hey. You were defending yourself from them. You did nothing wrong," he said, trying to assure her.

 _Besides if you didn't I would've killed them myself._ He added mentally.

Now, Alex thought enough was enough. She had enough of John defending the machine. "You still didn't have to kill them!" Alex complained. "You could have just knocked them out. Or you could have-"

"Enough!" John shouted in protest.

Even Allison flinched at his outburst. He understood Alex's grudge against Cameron. But she was Skynet's pawn back then. She was given no choice. If Alex cannot come to terms with that then so be it, but he won't let her berate Cameron for that. It was a machine that killed Allison in the future, not Cameron. Not his Cameron.

Alex saw the way John was glaring at her and a shiver ran down her metal spine. His eyes were red, and full of tears. There was only white hot rage. This was not a mere teenager, for the first time she saw the glimpse of the heartless future leader of mankind, whom even Skynet feared.

Without even knowing John, he had gathered Allison in his arms, and guided her out, while she rested her head on his shoulder with her forehead touching his left cheek and one of her hand on his chest. Surprisingly enough she didn't push him away. She let him comfort her.

Lizzie looked at the whole scene with both amazement and shock. The way this guy named John was taking care of Allison. It was as if he….. She looked at the woman whom she knew was named Alex, standing beside her. "Is he really her brother?" She asked.

Alex looked back at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know. The way he is protecting her, comforting her and taking care of her….. He seems ready to take on the whole world just for her as if she is the only thing that matters to him. It's as if, to me at least it seems, that he is in love with her." Lizzie attempted at explaining her confusion. "Besides they really don't look like siblings."

Alex eyes widened at Lizzie's statement. Then she looked at both John and Cameron. How he held her protectively in his arms, how he whispered words of comfort in her ears, how his eyes has turned soft and caring when he looks at her.

 _She is right. John is in love with Cameron. John Connor loves a freaking machine._

Alex cleared her throat slightly. "No it's not that… You see Cameron, lost her parents when she was like five years old. She was our neighbour and since then, John and Cameron grew up together like a brother and sister. For a long time they had no friends, only each other. So, perhaps you can understand now why he is so protective of her?" Alex lied completely.

"But why is she referring herself to as Allison? Why can't she remember anything at all?" Lizzie asked.

 _Damn this girl is persistent._ "Well you see, two months ago, Cameron slipped down the stairs and hit her head pretty hard on one of the steps in our home. She was in critical condition but eventually she made it. But her memory was lost. And sometimes she will take on the persona of another person, but it usually is temporary. The doctor said that this will happen for some time, so we had to keep watch over her. But somehow she escaped and we didn't notice." Alex explained. Just the mere sight of John and Cameron wanted her to spill the beans and reveal everything, and not have to lie at their expense. But this stranger probably wouldn't handle well to finding out that machines from the future existed.

"But what about these two dead guys?" Lizzie asked with fear in her eyes. Before Alex could respond to this sudden question, John spoke from the doorway.

"They got what they deserved," John cut in.

"John! Enough. Look, you get the hell out of here, we will leave too. If the neighbours notice and call the police, we'll all be in big trouble. I think it's best that you forget everything that's happened here." Alex hinted.

Lizzy noticed the stare down Alex inflicted, and realized what she was referring to. Something bad could, and would possibly happen to her if she goes around babbling about this incident. "You are right. I should go." Lizzie agreed and immediately left.

John looked down at Allison's face. "Hey we need to go home."

"They told me the same thing." Allison pointed at the dead man on the floor.

John's jaw clenched once more in anger. "It's okay. But you can trust me. We are actually going home."

Allison looked up and searched his face for any sign of lies but she only found honestly and affection in those green eyes of him. "I…. I don't know why but I feel that I can trust you." She smiled slightly with her hands holding his face.

John's face turned crimson as he tried to give a comforting smile but failed miserably. Alex saw the whole scene and her mouth fell wide open. She had only one thing to say,

"Fucking unbelievable!"

 ** _Crystal Peak, July 25, 2027: (Resistance Headquarters)_**

There was one part of this damn base he most certainly hated, and this was it. The lowest level that consisted of retrofitted cells for any prisoners. The enemies who were against the Resistance. Those who were human, and decided that fighting the only faction that was trying to be rid of Skynet, and restore the world back to what it once was.

He hated having to orchestrate the executions to such people- having their lives placed in his hand, where he would decide their fate. Firing squads were normally the way to go, but he still never enjoyed watching them.

But now…. now there was one cell that did hold someone who was capable of breaking out. Someone that wasn't just considered a mere human like he and his men.

General John Connor, along with a few Resistance soldiers scoured the halls of the Crystal Peak Tech-Com base, with John taking the lead. The four kept walking until they came to an immediate stop in front of an old storage facility, and the General motioned at the door. One soldier grabbed a set of keys from his belt, and opened the door.

The General walked inside, and stopped again, where he looked forward in the dark room, and at the woman huddled in the corner, with her hands bound onto an old metal pipe.

"Release her." Again, the soldier followed his given orders and took away the handcuffs, and stepped back. John took one step forward and looked at the woman who refused to look at him, and continued to stare into her lap. "I want to know why you did what you did, Sergeant Mathews."

Alex didn't immediately speak, and slowly looked up at the man. "What happened to calling me Alex?" she snickered and glanced up at the man before her eyes went back to her lap. "I think you know the answer."

"What you did is considered treason, Mathews. Aiming a weapon at me should've landed you in a firing squad." John pressed further, his face hardened, and his voice flat.

Alex didn't answer and instead looked at every one of John's accompanying soldiers. There was one that she was surprised that wasn't near him. "Where is your new metal?"

"I assigned her to General Perry's base for the next few weeks." John answered Alex's question.

"Oh, so you're assigning it a gender now? What's next, huh? A name? A pretty little pink dress and bow for its hair?" Alex quipped angrily. "Go to hell. Why don't you just treat me like everyone else in this world and leave me here to rot in peace."

"Alex-"

"Congratulations, General. You've actually remembered my name!" Alex chuckled hysterically.

Keeping a clear head, and fighting the urge to argue with the snippy brunette, John redirected the subject, and continued. "Alex, I need to show you something... It's personal."

•••

Did he lose hope? It had roughly been three months. Three fucking months of being stuck in this cage; starving, and freezing. Only ever getting a chance to eat once in awhile. Having to constantly watch Allie get dragged away from their cell, where she would disappear for days at a time. Three months and he failed the little girl whom he swore to never let anything happen to. When he promised his General that no one would touch a hair on her body.

John Connor. That name started to make him sick. The mere thought made him wanna gag. When he expected his General to come and save them from Skynet clutches, he never did. Instead he was stuck in here while _his_ daughter was being tested on like a lab rat.

If he ever saw John Connor again, he would make him pay. Not for his misery, but for Allison's. The one girl he thought would be the safest, was demoted to a damn expendable puppet that outlived the great General's use. He needed to get her out of here. He needed to escape and get her far away from this hell hole.

The man he thought so high of for as long as he could remember, has just failed him. His scared daughter. This man whom he had followed countless times has just threw them away like they were a pile of shit.

No, there was no use waiting. Staying here meant that he would probably die. Death out there in the wasteland seemed more preferable. He didn't want to die in a cage, it was better to go out fighting, than to die like an animal.

Martin put aside his concern for the pain, and looked around the small cell. All he could see were the countless Tunnel Rats that were stuck in nearby cages, and their groans of hunger and coldness being what engulfed his hearing. He started shifting through some trash that littered the cell floor, trying to find something- anything that would aid in his escape.

Eventually, after sifting through the entire floor, he found an old rusty Bobby pin. He sighed in relief, and crawled his way to the door.

Methodically, and quietly, he began to manually pick the lock, all while checking for any signs of an approaching T-888. He repeated this process, until he heard the door in the far corner open, and large, heavy, metal footsteps approach. In fear he accidentally dropped the Bobby pin, and he shuffled away from the door, just as triple eight stopped right in front of him, and began to intently stare at him with its glowing red eyes.

He only gulped in fear, as the triple eight opened the cell, and dragged him out by the foot. He knew that somehow, some way, they were watching.

He wasn't sure exactly how, or why, but they were, and he was expecting a torture chamber where he would be questioned on either another machine, or a Grey, for information regarding the Resistance camps. He knew where they were, and he was surprised that it took them till now to just take him instead of Allison. However she was still somewhere in this compound.

Eventually, machine forced him onto his feet, and led him into a room with a bright lamp, and forcibly made him sit in the chair. The light was bright, he couldn't make out anything around him. That was, until he heard another person he dragged inside, and thrown into the chair just opposite of the table. He looked away from the lamp, and at the person, and recognized who it was.

"Allie?"

She only stared back with tears in her eyes, until that sadness became fear, and her eyes widened, and her mouth trembled. Then he heard it. A chilling voice that should have sounded like the girl in front of him. It did sound just like the girl in front of him.

"You shouldn't have run. You're only making things worse for yourself."

Martin slowly glanced behind him, and looked up at what was standing behind him. It… it was… Allison!? No, that's impossible! Allison was right in front of him. Unless…

Skynet really did it. They took her image and grafted it onto a… a machine.

"You lied to me." The machine stated flatly.

"What do you mean? I told you where the camp was." Allison quavered.

The machine grabbed Martins wrist and held it up for Allison to see the silver bracelet that he still wore. "You told me your sister gave you that bracelet. Why is he wearing one?"

Allison couldn't answer the machine's question, and looked around, trying to think of a response.

"It's a pass, isn't it? For the Connor camp? You were going to send me there without it, they would have known what I was."

"You really think we're that gullible to tell you anything about it?" Martin chuckled hysterically. "Guess for a machine, you're pretty damn stupid."

The machine slammed Martins head against the metal table, making his vision blurry, and his head pounding in pain. "Please stop…" Allison begged.

"You lied to me." The machine repeated. "I don't like when people lie to me." The machine grabbed Martin by the scalp, and threw him out of the chair, where he landed a few feet away from the table. He tried to stand up, but the machine grabbed him by the neck, and hoisted him up into the air, and slammed his backside against the wall. The pressure around his neck cut off his breathing,and his face was beginning to turn purple, as he began to struggle for air.

"Please! He had nothing to do with this!"

The machine glanced back at Allison, and then back at Martin. She released her tight hold and he fell to the ground, struggling to find his lost breath. Then the unimaginable happened as the machine had pulled out a handgun and aimed at Martin, still staring at Allison. "Tell me how to get into the camp. I'll know if you are lying if you don't tell me the truth."

For extra empathise, the machine pulled the hammer back, making the job of killing the Resistance fighter much more quick and simple. She felt torn between saving her friend and outing the Resistance Headquarters to Skynet. Was one person enough to choose over an entire base consisting of her father and best friend? Was it enough to sacrifice everyone's life, along with the possible other base locations that Skynet could acquire from that bunker?

"Allie, don't listen to her!" Martin commanded. "Don't you worry about what happens to me."

The machine responded to Martin speaking out of term by shooting him in the kneecap, causing him to wail out in horrific pain. "I still count seven bullets."

When Allison couldn't find the words to speak, the machine fired another bullet at Martin's calve, and he screamed in more agony.

"I thought machines couldn't be cruel!" Allison snarled in sorrow and anger mixed in.

"You're right," the machine agreed, and lowered the gun. "But I am built to acquire information any way possible."

"Why are you doing this?" Allison then inquired, although she knew the reason. John Connor was always a target of most importance for Skynet. He was their biggest threat, thus sought out to terminate him. But what this machine was doing, the horrible acts of torture and interrogation it was committing. This was never what Skynet did, it never even had the idea of doing this to its prisoners. It was still evil, but not cruel, it certainly did not relish in the pain of others like a sociopath, or a psychopath.

The machine approached Allison and stood within a few inches away from her face. Her own face. It was almost as if she was looking in a mirror, and her reflection was a nightmare. "You're very brave. That must be why John Connor chose you."

"What are you talking about?" Allison said calmly. This may have been the first time she had been so close to a machine without it immediately killing her. Everything about this one was flawless. They got everything right about her likeness. Her eyes, although pretty lifeless, were of extreme detail; that strange birthmark that Alex used to make fun of when they got into a minor disagreement. The way her lips had that natural pout. Now she knew why the machines were studying her naked body, like a lab rat, and took samples. They recreated her look down to the smallest of details. Who knew what else they copied from her. Maybe it was best if she didn't know what they could have taken the opportunity to do to make this machine the perfect infiltrator. Maybe there was a seductive side that could be used for…. No she didn't even want to go down that path.

The machine continued. "I admire him, his determination. His spirit, his fearlessness. I'd like to meet him."

"He wouldn't want to meet you!" Allison hissed at the machine with anger.

"They're going to kill you. They're going to kill every one of you. They'll hunt you down until every human is gone, and you're extinct."

What the machine said was true. Humanity was struggling to survive. Even well before being captured, their numbers were rapidly dwindling. The thought of being so close to death made her quiver. Humanity was losing this war. "Then... Why are we having this conversation? Just kill me right here, right now."

"Because some of us don't want that. Some of us want peace." The machine explained. Allison was awestruck. What this machine said. It had to be a lie. There was no way they could just choose to have peace with humans. Skynet wanted them all dead, and never sought for a peace treaty against both races. If that was she could call them, that is. They were metal, and metal wasn't alive. They had no feeling and they had no morals on life in general.

 _They kill, all they do is kill, all they will ever know is how to kill._

"You were chosen, Allison. Not just by John Connor, but by us. Tell me where his camp is, and I may just let you and Martin Mathews free."

In response, Allison spat in the machines face. She knew it was a lie. There was no promise that it would just set the very people it was designed to kill, free. It was bullshit and she knew it. "Fuck you, metal!" She hissed.

The machine rubbed the saliva away and looked at its fingers. The next thing Allison knew, the machines hand reached out with such great speeds and latched onto her neck just like what it did to Martin. She was hoisted up slightly, but remained at eye level of the machine.

"You've outlived your usefulness to us, then." Then everything went black as a loud snap was heard, and Allison's body went limp.

Martin looked on in horror, as he watched the machine drop the young, scared, innocent girl he knew for so long; but was now just killed in cold blood. A machine acted so mercilessly and killed without hesitation, which wasn't surprising if it didn't act so violently and tortured him before killing her. Now that horror turned into rage, as the machine bent down and snatched Allison's bracelet from her unmoving wrist, and put it on its own.

 _That was it!_

Martin hopped onto his one good leg, and limping towards the machine, and grabbed the chair right next to him, where he swung it at its head. Although this one was more smaller and looked more fragile than a traditional T-888, it did not do as much as flinch and turned around just as he was about to initiate another attack.

It grabbed the chair, and pulled it away from his grasp, and tossed it to the side. He tried landing a punch on the machine's head in a desperate, yet fruitless attempt to disable it, but was again unsuccessful as even the chair did more damage to the damn piece of scrap.

The machine rose it's firearm just above Martin's stomach, and fired off two shots. He fell to the ground, with blood beginning to rise from his mouth as internal bleeding took action, and all he could feel was the numbness that the adrenaline had overtaken.

As the machine left the room, he looked over at the girl he knew for so long, lay lifeless, as her brown eyes stared into nothingness. That was the last thing he saw before everything faded away.

•••

Alex looked at the computer monitor blankly. There was only one thing she could do, and that wasn't saving her brother and best friend. They were both dead, and she saw it all. Allison's neck was broken without a moment's hesitation and her brother bled out from internal bleeding. Both were such cruel ways to die, and Skynet was never known for this. Cruelty was never it's objective, yet one of its creations did just that.

She wanted to display all the anger and sorrow she felt, but just couldn't seem to even let them out.

John turned off the monitor and took a seat on the desk where he looked down at the awestrucken Alex. "It was hard for me to watch too. I couldn't even get past Allison."

"You kept it."

"I know," John sadly nodded.

"Even after seeing this," was all that Alex could mutter under her breath.

"Alex, there is a reason why I-"

John wasn't surprised however, when Alex finally snapped.

"You kept that fucking machine after you saw Allison get her neck snapped and _my_ brother get shot in the gut, and left there by the machine, to bleed out! My brother! My Allison!"

"Alex, calm down." John ordered calmly. She didn't listen however, and stood up, where the chair behind her fell back.

"Don't you ever tell me to call down, John!" Alex ranted with tears beginning to trail from her eyes and down her cheeks. "How could you? After everything, you… you just… after what you saw…. this. You just kept it? As if anything didn't happen? As if it was like the others?"

"I know to you this may look bad, Alex, but there is a reason for this….." John tried reasoning in a calm and collected manner. "I never told you about my past."

"When I first met you, you said you couldn't remember anything about your past." Alex pointed out with sadness. "Martin told me that you were suffering from amnesia when we first found you in the tunnels. You had major head trauma or something."

"And that was true." He agreed. "I couldn't for the longest time. I only ever knew who I was, and what my role was…... But that was up until a few years ago."

"After seeing Allie grow up, she started looking more and more familiar to me. As if I've known her prior to Judgement Day. I would have these dreams that I swear are so real, and so vivid, that they don't feel like dreams."

"I was young; about fifteen or so. I first met Allison at this high school I went to."

"She wasn't even born yet." Alex stated.

"And you're right….. Because it wasn't her, Alex. It was Cameron."

" _Cameron?"_ Alex responded in disbelief. It took her few seconds to understand who he meant. What he meant. Her eyes widened in realization. "You named the fucking machine _Cameron?_ "

John continued despite Alex's questioning. "In my dreams her name was Cameron. She was sent back by me, _now_ , to protect my younger self. I only ever remember bits from these dreams, but they always ended the same way. With me going into the future to find her missing cpu. After that, I would wake up, and the next night it would repeat itself."

"This is from a dream. You're backing this whole claim, and using Allison's machine copy as a what? Trying to rebuild these dreams? Trying to make them real?"

"They are real! I see them as memories of my past, Alex." John persisted. " I don't know for sure, but maybe after fifteen years, my amnesia has finally come to an end and I'm finally starting to understand everything. I may even be able to prevent Judgement Day from ever happening."

"Even for you this is the most dumbest thing I've ever heard you say." Alex hissed. "And there is quite a bit of stupid things i've heard you say in the past."

John, in response to Alex's opinion, bowed his head in disappointment. "I don't expect you to understand."

"If you want to play _Alice in Wonderland_ , and pretend that this machine is something important, fine. But if it ever comes near me, or even in my sights. I promise you that the next thing you'll see is a melting heap of metal and fake skin. Maybe then you'll come to your senses and accept your stupidity for believing ludicrous dreams and claiming them as your past." With that said, Alex left John's quarters, and slammed the door loud enough for it to echo throughout the entire base.

When he was alone to himself, John looked back at the computer monitor. The last frame was of Cameron holding Allison's neck. "She is important, Alex. To me, to the future of mankind. She is the key. You won't understand now. But one day I hope you will."

 ** _Los Angeles, California, December 9, 2007: (Connor Safehouse)_**

One thing was very surprising to Alex. They got home well after dark, and managed to arrive way before Sarah and Derek returned, thus granting them with the alibi to say that they've obediently stayed put and didn't leave. Although now she was starting to consider that Kacy was probably gonna tell Sarah what they were up to. She wasn't sure what exactly what she was going to tell Sarah, but decided that it was best if she crossed that bridge when they got to it.

But now there was another problem. With Sarah and Derek calling ahead of time, explaining that traffic was heavy and that they'd be late, the problem was Cameron. Her personality was still altered, and she still thought herself to be Allison Young. Her Allison Young. What bothered her, was the fact that this ghost didn't remember her. She didn't know her name, didn't know who she was.

Instead she saw her as a complete stranger, and seemed to relish in John comforting her on the sofa. All she could do was watch from the doorway, and take a sip from her iced tea that she so desperately needed after a days worth of going down memory lane.

 _Why can't I ever just have positive memories?_

After a moment, Allison had settled down, and finally stopped whimpering like a little puppy dog, and sat there, only looking at John. He assured her with a smile and stood up, and he walked over to Alex.

"How's the new guest?" Alex asked.

"Fine. I managed to settle her down." He noticed the way she eyed Cameron. Or was it Allison now? It was that stare that Derek would normally give the cyborg. "You're not liking this, are you?" he pointed out.

Alex glanced back over at the sofa and onto the girl. "Allison has been dead to me for months. Seeing her face every day is bad enough when _she_ doesn't go around claiming to be her."

"Well we now all know that she also thinks she's Allison, so that theory is true."

"What is she saying?" Alex then asked.

"Not much. She has kept apologizing for what she did to those guys back at that apartment complex. But that's it, really." John explained. "What are we gonna tell mom?"

"Tell her the truth." Alex answered immediately, and went into the kitchen. John chased after her, and confronted her.

"We can't do that, Alex." John shouted, with his blood boiling. "You know what they'll do to her if they find out that's she's glitching like this."

"What choice do we have, John!? Do you really think we can hide her from them?"

"We can try," John insisted. "Please, Alex. Don't do this."

"Did I do something wrong?" Both of them whirled around and looked at Allison who was standing in the doorway in a timid manner.

"No you didn't." John assured, and turned his attention back to Alex. "Right, Alex?"

"Oh no, she did." Alex settled for answering. All day she had been covering for the two, and now was the last straw. She was done lying for them at their expense. "How about you go sit your pretty little ass in the living room and let the grownups talk."

"Alex!" John shouted in outrage.

"This crosses the line, John. For all we know this little Allison persona she has, could very well end up with your neck broken or worse. She is too unstable, and judging by the two guys she killed, doesn't know her strength as well. Next time it could be you that goes flying out of a window or gets a knife lodged in your neck."

"I would never do that-"

"Shut the fuck up!" Alex snarled emotionally. "I said get out!" Allison flinched, and cowardly stepped back, and ran back into the living room.

"Calm down, Alex!" John shouted at the Hybrid in response. "That is an order!"

"You are not my Goddamn General. You are only a child that thinks he deserves all the sympathy in the world because he doesn't want to be a leader that everyone will look up to! Am I wrong?"

"And what do you have to say about your attitude? You're the one who is ranting like a freaking nut job because of a little reason!"

"That machine is no little reason! It is acting like someone I loved dearly, whom she killed by the way! Must I remind you that!?"

John could only glare at Alex with intensity and frustration. He wasn't sure what his mother would do when she found out about this glitch Cameron took. If she would react well to it, or send her straight to the thermite pit. He didn't want that whatsoever. He needed to get through to Alex somehow, and yelling wasn't gonna fix that. He wasn't about to let Cameron's flaws destroy her, and he wasn't going to let anyone touch Cameron.

"I had to have been right. There is a reason why future me kept her."

"Future you kept her because she looked like Allison, that's why." Alex said with venom lingering in her voice.

"That is enough!" John raised his voice this time. "We won't resolve this problem if we just keep yelling at each other."

For the second time in the same day Alex seemed taken back at the authority John spoke. No young boy could speak the way he does, like a commanding tone without any intention of doing that. That was not the voice of young John Connor, that was the voice General Connor, future leader of mankind.

The front door soon opened, and Allison stood up and stepped back as Derek Reese and Sarah Connor came walking in; both holding a duffle bag and a paper bag with what they guessed was food. Sarah was delighted to see her son. She traded bags with Derek and handed him the other duffle bag, in exchange for the other paper bag of food, and went over to give her son a hug. "Hey, sorry we were late."

"It's fine." John nervously stammered. "Me, Cameron, and Alex were just… we were just-"

"We were watching movies the whole day." Alex finished, all while mentally kicking herself for acting on instinct yet again. Sarah looked at the three with uncertainty, but nodded in acceptance.

"Here." She handed one paper bag to John, and one to Alex. "Figured it was too late to make dinner so we stopped and got you something."

"Thanks, mom." John said gratefully and peeked inside. He figured it would be something close by, like McDonalds.

"Do I get anything?" Sarah looked behind her, just over the couch at Cameron who was standing awkwardly, looking at her with a shy demeanor.

This was confusing to say the least. Sure, the machine was beginning to act stranger than usual, but she never asked for food. She only ever saw Cameron eat a few carrot sticks at least once a week in order for her pretty skin to keep its perplexion. "Uhhh…"

"That's okay, I shouldn't be eating junk food anyway." John walked over to Allison and dug in his bag, and retrieved a burger and selflessly gave it to her.

Again, like earlier last night, she rolled her eyes at the way John was treating the machine. He was only grateful to her because she saved his sorry ass from the Chloe terminator. There was nothing aside from that. Right? "John, Tin Miss doesn't need to eat your dinner."

Both looked at the woman, and Alex just groaned and walked away. Allison then made a suggestion. "We can split it."

Sarah didn't know what to say about this closeness these two were currently sharing right now. Even as going as far to suggest that they can split the meal. The cyborg always stated that she didn't need to eat. She was even perplexed at the fact that when Cameron spoke, it was with a smile.

 _Note to self. Just get the damn metal her own food next time._

Sarah turned on her heels and disappeared into the kitchen, now wanting to get away from this awkwardness she felt. She was just relieved to see that Cameron didn't kill him yet. Yes, she was acting strange and quite different at the moment, but it didn't seem too bad. She would have to keep a close eye on the young cyborg later. She needed to dig into that metal skull and see what information she could get out of her. Maybe one that would explain this selflessness and innocence that she was currently carrying on her shoulders.

Upon entering the kitchen, Sarah ran into Alex who was haphazardly eating her bought meal. To say the very least, the Tin Head looked very frustrated and annoyed. "So what happened today?"

"Like I said, Sarah. We watched movies." Alex replied.

Sarah knew this wasn't true. The way Alex's gaze faltered when she spoke to her. "I can tell you're lying. What really happened?"

"You are definitely the mother in this family." Alex chuckled. She set down her sandwich and looked over at John and Allison who were sitting on the couch, talking and laughing to one another. If Sarah were to see what she was seeing, she would most likely freak out and definitely want to burn the machine. On second thought maybe she should make her look behind her? "Kacy was having baby troubles today so we took her to the hospital."

"Is she okay?" Sarah asked worryingly, to which Alex just nodded in assurance.

"It was just a small problem. Nothing major." Alex continued. "After this morning and having to take Kacy to the hospital, it became very difficult to watch both her and those two."

"Nothing happened other than that?" Sarah then inquired.

Again. Alex glanced over at the two smiling and laughing. The answer was no, there was more to it than that. Especially with the sick personality Cameron currently had. But after taking into account what John said- what he pleaded that she don't tell his mother about Cameron's glitch. Doing that to him would tear their already fragmented relationship and hide the pieces for them to never be found again. "That's all."

Sarah looked at her watch and noticed the time. "It's getting late. I'm gonna get some rest."

"Goodnight, Sarah." The woman acknowledged the farewell and retreated to her room, upstairs for the night.

Was she regretting this? Covering for John and Cameron yet again. It was always something she did for them and now it was eating away at her like a swarm of mosquitos. There was nothing she ever gained from it, other than the fact that she would receive a really good scolding from Sarah. There was nothing in it for her and time and time again, she would commit the selfless act and cover them.

Looking at the food that was in front of her, she pushed it to the side and placed her chin on her arms, as she silently watched the two sit for hours, talking. Almost as if it was a punishment, and she deserved it.

She continued to watch the two for hours until John reluctantly went up to bed and left Allison sitting on the couch silently. Alex looked at the clock and it was already _11:30_ at night.

 _Where did the day go?_ she wondered. Everything today became so complicated. When she thought that this was going to be a normal, simplistic, and relaxing weekend, it turned into a real struggle. First John was almost killed by a machine, and now Cameron was acting like her dead best friend. This was for sure, the most horrible weekend by far.

Alex got up from her chair and pushed it back into its original place. She began walking to the stairs with the sole intent on ignoring the glitchy cyborg, and focused on getting some rest. But as she feared, when she placed one foot on the steps, the machine called out to her in a tone that was almost enough for her to want to walk over there, and punch her in the face.

"I'm sorry for making you angry earlier."

Alex stopped but kept her back turned. "Please don't talk to me."

"But-"

"I said don't!" Alex snapped. Allison held her tongue from speaking any further, and her eyes diverted from her, to the floor. Alex looked back at the girl, and saw what she was doing. Her face turned red, and she stomped up towards Allison with her blood boiling. "Don't even give me that shit! You can't feel!"

"I don't understand?" Allison whimpered in fear and confusion.

"You may have John fooled, but not me. You're just playing a sick game, and I don't find it funny." Alex hissed in irritation. "Not after what you did."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I am done with this game! You're not Allison Young, you are a machine from the future, and your mission is to protect that kid up there!" She angrily pointed at the staircase.

Allison's eyes widened upon hearing what Alex revealed. "What?"

"Get it through your thick metal skull! You are malfunctioning and if you don't quit your shit right now, I swear to whatever God is listening, that I will take you out into the shed and burn you with thermite myself!"

Although Cameron was acting like a ghost, she was dumbfounded to find that the machine bursted into tears and bolted up the stairs, her wailing being all that was heard.

Alex grunted in anger and fell to the couch. "God fucking dammit!" Why did this have to happen? Why did the damn machine have to bring up her past. Most importantly, why did it have to take on her dead best friend's personality? Maybe this was some form of punishment. _Maybe future John just wanted me to have to suffer with a malfunctioning machine!_

After a moment, Derek walked upstairs and looked around in confusion. "I heard crying. What happened?" he inquired in complete and utter confusion.

"Nothing, Derek, I was just watching a shitty chick flick." Alex answered in irritation. Derek gave her a look of uncertainty, but accepted and went back downstairs, to his room for the night.

•••

Back upstairs, John was getting ready for bed. He wasn't sure what he was gonna do about school tomorrow, but he probably saw best that he was gonna stay home and deal with Cameron's glitch. He wasn't sure how he was gonna bring her back to normal, or if he could even do it at all. If mom and Derek were ever to find out about Cameron being like this, he wasn't sure what the consequences would be. If they would burn her for not fulfilling her only purpose.

After an entire month of treating her like complete and utter garbage, seeing her cry then and now was a wake up call. She was different from the others and he felt stupid for not seeing it earlier. When they first met she said so herself.

As John wrapped up these thoughts, he heard a rapid beat of knocks on his door, followed by sniffling. He finished putting his T-shirt over his head, and walked over to open it. It was Cameron…. Or Allison as she was thinking herself to be. He wasn't exactly sure. But what concerned him even more was that she was crying.

 _I have never seen a machine cry as much as this one- well actually I've never seen one before up until a month ago._ "What's wrong?" John asked in a concerned tone.

She couldn't speak as only inaudible whimpers and pointing were what he had to follow. She instead wrapped her arms around him, and sobbed into his chest. He was even more confused as to what happened as she had held onto him like back at the apartment complex.

 _Oh boy, John. Never in your life have you ever considered on taking on the task of comforting an emotional terminator._

To anyone but him, this would appear strange if his mother or uncle were to walk by on them, so he led her into his room and closed the door behind him. He could tell she was tense, just by the way he locked the door in order to avoid anyone walking in on him and her. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna do anything."

He backed away from the door and sat down at the foot of his bed and gently patted the space next to him, implying that she sit down next to him. She accepted the offer and sat very close to him, with both of their thighs touching. Tears still trailed down her face as she rested her head on his shoulder, and continued to wrap her arms around him.

"So how about you tell me what happened downstairs?" John then softly asked.

"Why does Alex hate me?" Allison inquired with sorrow.

John backed away from her so that he could look into her eyes. "She doesn't hate you."

"Every time I talk to her she yells at me." Allison explained. "What did I do?"

John sighed deeply. He knew the reason why Alex was so hostile to her right now, but trying to explain it without sounding like a freak would be very difficult. That and he didn't want to see her cry anymore. "She… well you just look like someone she once knew."

"I do?" Allison asked with her head cocked in curiosity.

"She…. died a long time ago." John continued at a snail's pace. "I guess you just have one of those faces. It's hard for her to look at you and not see you as that person."

"What was her name?" Allison then inquired.

"Allis- Cameron. Her name was Cameron." John corrected himself. Now this lie was beginning to get out of hand. She was the person who died, yet didn't. He wasn't sure what to call this glitch. A ghost in a machine, just some program that has gone off the rails? Maybe this was for the best and Cameron was becoming more of a person than just some mindless, cold blooded, machine. Maybe her memory being erased was just a gradual step in her evolution.

He liked Allison so far, sure. She was very timid, but very kind, and innocent. Almost like…. Cameron. But Allison wasn't her. She didn't have the strange quirkiness and machine like attitude like Cameron did. She was very sad for most of the night, and cried nonstop. If he was being honest with himself, he wanted Cameron back. Her personality, and their regrowth in their friendship just as it was in the process of rebuilding itself.

"John? Do I look like someone you once knew?" She then asked, breaking John from his deep reflections. He looked at her as if he didn't hear her, but he did. He just wasn't sure how to answer such a question.

"I uhhh….." He wasn't sure how to even explain to her what he meant. She was inhabiting the mind and body of his best friend. "I mean…. yeah. Sort of. You just look a lot like… Cameron."

"I'm sorry." Allison said apologetically and looked at her lap in sadness.

 _Good job, Connor, now you just made her even more sad._ "No, no, no, no, it's alright. It's not your fault," he attempted at reassuring. He knew he wasn't good at such a task, but he didn't want to see her ball her eyes out again. Luckily she didn't begin to sob again. She just brushed a lone tear from her already red eyes and smiled at him. "Look, I know mom and everyone else won't like this one bit, but you can stay in my room tonight. If you'd like to, of course."

"You don't mind?" Allison asked meekly.

John smiled. "Of course not. But as much as I want to give up my incredibly small bed, maybe it would be wise if you would take the floor…" he then explained. Back when Chloe didn't have a place to sleep, he happily lent it to Chloe in an act of selflessness and kindness to his cousin. He wasn't sure how to explain to his mother that their sleepless cyborg was lying on his bed while he opted for the hard floor.

That was another problem. Cameron never slept as she didn't have the capability. Was this Allison persona different? Or would she start freaking out when she found out that she wasn't hungry, nor was she tired?

"That's okay, John." Allison smiled again.

What he didn't expect next was when Allison's cheeks become red, and her head slowly made closer contact with his, as she leaned in close.

From the hall, Alex walked into her room, with an annoyed expression engraved on her face as she muttered curses under her breath. In her mind, there was three places that the machine could be at. The first was this room, while the second was John's room. Maybe she tattled on her to him because of the _mean_ things she said downstairs. It was either that or she ran away and they'd have to find her again. She was sure as hell not up for another wild goose chase.

On the bright side she wasn't gone at least. From the adjoining bathroom that her and John's room shared, she saw the two talking yet again. _Maybe she is telling on me,_ Alex chuckled to herself. That went to show that even an intelligent machine, no matter how glitchy they were, could act so childish.

Well she had a half assed apology made up, so Alex thought she'd get it over with and just hope for the best that Cameron is back by morning, and this Allison thing was behind them.

What happened next was unimaginable for Alex. Allison was leaning towards John and he showed no signs of backing away. A machine was attempting a kiss on the leader that would destroy them. A damn machine!

 _That is it! I've had enough of this bullshit!_

Alex made a straight beeline for John's room, through the bathroom, all while flipping the bathtub valve on along the way. Once she was in John's room, just as the two's lips were about to touch, Alex grabbed Allison by the shirt, and dragged her off the bed with ease, and towards the bathroom.

John looked at Alex in complete disbelief as he watched her drag a terrified Allison along with her. "Alex! What the fuck are you doing!?"

"Stay out of it, John!" Alex snarled and went back to focusing on Allison. She tossed her into the bathtub, which was already partially filled with water, with a loud splash being heard, and water flying everywhere. John tried intervening, but was again cut short as Alex had shoved him to the floor, not even accounting for his most recent wound that was getting the better of him. "I said stay out of it!"

Allison gasped for air, and attempted to get out of the tub, but was immediately forced back under water, when Alex pushed back down with her foot.

During the ensuing struggle, and making sure Allison couldn't cry for help, Alex reached out for the sink, and pulled a purple hairdryer off the wall. She plugged it into the nearest outlet, and dangled the object above Allison and purposely let the cord slip from her fingers before splashing into the water.

She immediately removed her foot from Allison's chest and backed away as she watched Allison's body jolt and shake rapidly in the tub. After a few moments, the jolting subsided, and she stopped moving, as well as her eyes stopped blinking.

John was at a loss for words. He knew that Alex was very disliking of Cameron acting like Allison at the moment, but he didn't expect her to go this far. He glared at Alex with anger. "What the hell, Alex! Why the fuck did you do that!?"

"I am done with this piece of tin ruining my life." Alex simply answered John's unappealing question. She reached into her back jeans pocket and pulled a switchblade and flicked it open with her wrist.

John knew what she was intending to do, and it scared him. One hundred and twenty seconds until her systems would reboot. Less if she was like her evil self when she attempted to kill him. One hundred and twenty seconds was more than enough time for Alex to have Cameron's chip in her hand. When that point was crossed…. He could do nothing. A hybrid such as herself would, and could not be stopped by someone his size. He was powerless against her.

In a quick attempt to preserve Cameron's chip, John rushed back into his room, and immediately ran for his pillow. He reached underneath and pulled a handgun, and checked the clip to make sure it was fully loaded. There was no time to act.

John ran back into the bathroom, just as Alex was in the process of digging into Cameron's scalp. Without a moment's hesitation, he rose the gun and fired off a shot into the Hybrid's back, causing her to jolt back in pain. The stinging sensation snapped her back to reality. She turned and looked at John with disbelief and shock. She stopped what she was doing, and saw the gun in his hand. He had it aimed directly at her. "What the hell, John!?"

She saw the serious demeanor that engraved his facial features. It was that of his future self. He may have been whiny at certain points in time, he may have been a tad bit too emotional around her sometimes. But when he had his mind set on something- when the man she knew was overcome with loss… there was nothing that would stop him. He would become a different person in a matter of seconds when the mission was of top priority.

This John, and future John's emotions were that of a sand castle. In an instant, a wave would crumble it away into nothingness.

"You touch her again, and I will make sure that the next bullet that comes out of this gun, ruins one of those blue eyes of yours." John hissed with venom.

If that weren't enough to spur the moment, his mother and Derek both kicking down his door was. They both rushed into the bathroom with their guns drawn, until they lowered them upon seeing Cameron's body in the bathtub; and John and Alex standing next to it. There they saw John holding a gun, and Alex with her arm reaching behind her back.

"What in the absolute hell is going on here!?" Sarah demanded in a loud, angry tone.

"We're about to find out whether Cameron is still useful to us." Alex winced due to the bullet embedded itself pretty deep next to her metal spine. She glanced back at the tub with curiosity as to who will awaken, and if she was right after all and they needed to burn her. With Alex implying that they look at the tub, everyone watched as the terminator slowly rebooted and sat up.

She looked around, and noticed that again she was wet, and sitting in a filled bathtub that made her dress float above. She looked up at the four whom were silently watching her.

"Allison?" John asked with worry. He wasn't sure who it could be that was inhabiting that mind of hers. Was it the Cameron he knew and love, or was it Allison? He was about to have his answer.

"Who's Allison?" Cameron inquired.

John closed his eyes in what he felt as being torn between feeling relieved and disappointed. He wanted her back and he did. But Allison was now gone and he was beginning to have a sense of protectiveness with her. He didn't feel like a weak helpless boy. Maybe that was for the best. He extended his hand out for Cameron to take, but was surprised to find that she looked at it curiously, and got up herself. Everyone stood back, and John settled for handing her a towel to dry off.

"You get into some dry clothes, Tin Miss." Sarah ordered. The cyborg tilted it's head in response, and walked into hers and Alex's shared room. With Cameron gone, Sarah looked at both John and Alex with a stern expression. "And you two in the living room, now!"

The two flinched and watched as the future mother of mankind stomped out of the room, and Derek Reese shaking his head as he left.

•••

To say Sarah was beyond pissed was an understatement. To even say she was infuriated wasn't even enough to describe how angry she was. "I want answers right now! Why was the Tin Miss in the bathtub, why did you call her Allison, and more importantly, why did you shoot Alex!?"

Both John and Alex were sat on the living room sofa as Sarah paced back and forth in front of them, while Derek was in the process of digging out the bullet from Alex's back and wrapping a bandage over it. After that was done, Alex settled for changing into a blue tank top, as her favorite blouse was now ruined thanks to John shooting her.

"Alex has been acting like a crazy little bitch today, that's what!" John quipped.

"Oh, I have?" Alex inquired, her eyes narrowing at John. "You're the one who shot me, you little asshole!"

"You tried to kill Cameron!" John argued back.

"That is enough! I've had it just up to here with you two!" Sarah snapped. The two sat quietly, and watched the ranting woman continue her interrogation on them. "I want answers right now. I want to know everything that's happened today."

The two didn't immediately start babbling as they looked around the room for anything that could change the subject. But sadly, there was nothing to distract the woman, and they were forced to either come clean or risk something harsher than a grounding. "After you left Cameron seemed fine," John decided to start. "We went to the hospital with Kacy, and everything was good. There was no more strange occurrences, and everything seemed normal."

Sarah folded her arms. "But it wasn't," she pointed out.

John simply nodded in acknowledgement. "Kacy said something, and Cameron. Well she… freaked out."

"Freaked out?" Sarah rose her eyebrow in perplexity.

"Scared her or something." John clarified. "Anyway, me and Alex spent the whole day looking for her, and we did. She is back to normal."

"And you expect us to believe any of that?" Derek inquired from behind. He walked around to the front of the sofa and looked the two dead in the eye. "Explain to us why we should believe what you said was true. Why was the metal in a filled bathtub with a hairdryer in it? Why there was blood on the tip of this pocket knife here?" he then revealed in his hand, the blade that had bits of Cameron's synthetic blood on the pointy end. "Why was Alex cutting into its scalp?" John looked at Alex in response to Derek's point. He was a Resistance fighter and always studied his surroundings. Whereas his mother probably just saw Cameron in the bathtub, his uncle saw more than that. He was taught to be observant of his surroundings, taking in the minor details that each scene would have. He noticed everything and probably put two and two together.

"You know what, John is not gonna say it, so I sure as hell will." Alex spoke up. She stood up before the whole dysfunctional family of theirs. "That _thing,_ upstairs, acted like someone else for the entire day and John here didn't want you two to know that. He thought that these strange glitches she is _experiencing_ would lead her to be scrapped." She looked at Sarah more specifically. "Your oh so beloved, future, badass son, went as far as to try and smooch the damn thing when it didn't even know what the fuck was going on!"

Everyone was appalled. Sarah and Derek looked down at John who in turn looked at Alex with fire in his eyes. They were all stunned to say the least. Alex's outburst had left them all speechless, and they couldn't even begin to comprehend what she had just said. But if that wasn't enough, Alex continued on with her little rant.

"I can't take this anymore. I can't take this damn household, and I sure as hell can't take living with that thing up there!"

"Ever since Chloe's death, all we have done is just bark at each other and mistrust one another. This family is broken, and when one of you decides to change that…. Then come and find me." She stomped her way to the front door and grabbed her coat on the way out. All that was heard was a loud slam that everyone was sure they heard the wood, from the door, crack.

Sarah looked at her son whose eyes were darting around the room, and his face red with embarrassment. "John…"

However, she was successfully ignored as even for the wounds he just recently sustained, he quickly made his way upstairs, up to his room, and slammed his door shut.

"John wouldn't try anything with the metal, huh?" Derek scoffed. He walked over to the front door, and grabbed his coat. "I'm gonna go and try to calm her down." With that, he grabbed the truck keys, and left the house.

Sarah knew what he meant. She once mentioned that he at least wouldn't be bound to try anything with Cameron, or try to take advantage of her. But as far as what Alex said, he did. And she was right about everything, it seemed. She only wished she saw it sooner and she done something.

Derek spent most nights getting drunk due to his daughter's death, she and John continuously fought over freedom rights and what it means to be the prophesied leader against the machines. It was every one of them that directed that blame onto Cameron. After she tried to kill John, she was dubbed the most easiest target. Every time something went wrong or didn't go their way, it felt easiest to just yell at a machine who would only look at you with confusion half the time. Alex was right about everything. After Chloe, this family has split apart. They no longer trusted each other, and that was what was driving this great divide between them.

What was to come in the future? Skynet was still out there and the leads they had were based off of a blood written wall. If they kept this up- if they don't find common ground and focus on the real threat…. Then soon that won't matter. Everything will be lost, and the future will repeat itself. They will lose their greatest battle and billions will die.

 _Change was needed._

•••

 **Author's Note: Here is the second half of the last chapter. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. It was quite an emotional chapter, so you can't really blame Alex for acting the way she did. I just hope we all don't ride the hate train on Alex all of a sudden for harming our dear Cameron.**

 **Reviews and constructive criticism is gladly accepted!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Terminator: No Fate But What We Make**

 **Chapter 23**

 ** _Los Angeles, California, December 10, 2007: (Connor Safehouse)_**

 ** _7:18 am_**

 _They say a family's bond is stronger than anything- that nothing can break your love for one another. But what do you do when that bond snaps like a rope? How do you fix that rope so it will continue to pull the weight of the coming future?_

 _The truth is, there is no way to fix what damage has been done. The only way to mend that relationship back, is to take what rope you have and tie a knot of forgiveness. But sadly, even that doesn't fix everything. The rope just becomes more easier to break, when the next time, more weight is added._

Like every morning, it was particularly quiet in the house. Not a peep came from within. Only the birds chirping, and the traffic a few blocks down was all that you could hear. But even today, out of all days, this morning was uncomfortably silent. The birds outside seemed almost non existent. The roaring vehicles were far and few between the sound that would normally illuminate that background noise. There was nothing and that was a very erie feeling.

John lied in his bed, staring up at the ceiling with boredom. It was Monday, and that meant school. However, he didn't even have to go. His near death experience with his cousin's terminator doppelganger was enough to land him in bed for at least a few days. He needed as much rest and time to heal as he could get. But how could you rest when you spent the majority of your weekend running from a killing machine, and spending the following day by looking for another killing machine? The answer was simple. He has over exerted himself to the point that just lazily lying in bed was more painful than walking around and keeping himself occupied.

After last night, he spoke to no one. After Cameron- Allison being dumped into a bathtub and electrocuted by her purple hair dryer. After Alex's rant about having a broken family and stating that he attempted to kiss Cameron. That wasn't true at all, it was her that did it, and it wasn't even Cameron at all. It was that Allison persona she developed. Either way his mother, nor Derek would believe it. Now they probably thought he was some sort of sick bastard that loved taking advantage of machines.

John slowly sat up and looked at his alarm clock. It was almost _7:30_. As far as he knew, Cameron was fine. That meant that his mother would send her to school. More preferably alone, and as far away from him as possible. After yesterday, he didn't want to leave her out of his sight. As much as he wanted to just brush it off and route to she is just a machine, he couldn't. Seeing her cry as both herself and Allison made him look at her in a different light.

What Alex told him about the girl Cameron's face was based off of: Allison Young. He knew it wasn't her that deliberately took her look, it was Skynet's ploy to trick him into thinking that he wouldn't tell the difference between a girl who was supposed to be his daughter and this machine. He couldn't blame Cameron for anything. He knew deep down she wasn't like that. This was when she was created as a slave to Skynet's evil programming. Alex would probably never see it that way. How could she? From what she said, this Allison was her best friend. To her Cameron was the monster that killed Allison and took her face.

But that would never change what she did to Cameron last night.

He couldn't even begin to fathom the idea of a machine actually having emotions. He wasn't even sure how Skynet did it. She once said she was different. Maybe that was what she had meant. Everything slowly began to add up. Every experience he has had with her. Everything from between what she said back in the car after Cherie's party, to what transpired yesterday when he was cleaning the glass shards out of her forearm and she held his hand.

He needed to talk to her. Everything was just eating him up inside and after not speaking to her last night, he was more than eager to check on her. He didn't want to leave her at school alone either. He would push through anything for her, as did she for him.

John slowly got up off his bed, and threw his T-shirt on. He stopped when the shirt was just above his head and looked in the mirror at his bandage. It was pretty nasty looking. Guess that's what happens when you go the whole day without attending to it.

Maybe it was best to wash up before talking to her. That way, at least, he can clean his wound and change the bandage, and that way he wouldn't smell like a homeless person. That was probably the best idea. Considering school would start within the hour, a nice hot shower would help him clear his head and give him some planning time on what he was going to say to her.

After jumping into the shower and quickly washing up, he stepped out and dried off. He took the time to clean his wound and apply a fresh bandage for the day. With that done, he wrapped the towel around his naked body and walked into his room to change. There would be nothing too lavish for him to wear. A hoodie and jeans would probably suit him best as they would provide some better maneuverability and less tightness around his wound.

Now that he was dressed, he could finally talk to Cameron.

John walked out of his room, and grabbed his bag on the way out. He made his way downstairs, and found it to be empty, aside from someone still asleep on the couch. It was Alex. As much as he still wanted to release his built up anger on her right now, being this early and not wanting to have another conflict, he decided to just let her sleep. He couldn't help but smell her breath from a distance however. It reeked with an all too familiar smell of booze.

 _Last night she must have pulled a Derek and got shit faced. Can she get drunk?_

She was still a nurse so by not going to school she was risking not calling in sick, therefore it would be possible that she'd be fired.

John walked into the kitchen and again, found it completely empty. His mother either wasn't up yet, or she was busy with something else. After what they heard yesterday, and it being so early in the morning, he hoped that he didn't have to look her and his uncle in the eye today. They would most likely let him have their wrath and remind him of his all too familiar destiny and how machines are the enemy and not a plaything or some bullshit.

Pancakes didn't seem to appetizing anyway.

John went ahead and grabbed a bowl from the cupboard, and a spoon from the drawer near the sink. He then grabbed the box of cereal from the top of the fridge as well as the milk from inside. He poured himself a bowl and sat there eating with the silence still being present.

After a while, the basement door opened and John watched as Derek Reese appeared and walked into the kitchen. He didn't appear to have been drinking nowhere as near as much as Alex; or at all for that fact. He must've spent the night looking for her and when he did she was already mostly gone. He did the right thing and took her home.

Derek acknowledged John's presence, but didn't speak. Instead he started the coffee pot and waited for it to fill. But even from where he was standing, he didn't need to see the anguish and uncomfortable, tense atmosphere that has built up after he entered.

He saw the school bag near his feet, so he knew what John was up to. "So. You're going to school today." Derek pointed out.

"My future self wouldn't let a small stab wound bed him right?" John grumbled. "So why should I?"

"My General would know when not to push himself." Derek strongly mentioned. "He also wouldn't try kissing machines."

Immediately, John had enough of this. This accusation sent John into a whirlwind and he stood up and walked up to his uncle. "I don't need this. Not from mom, not from Alex, and surely not from you."

Derek only smirked as his young General got into his face. At least that's what he would think if it weren't for his recent actions. The John Connor he knew would never risk his life for a machine, he would never even make out with the damn thing. This boy that was in front of him was no John Connor. Instead it was John Baum. The naive little sixteen year old boy that had an ego as big as his future counterpart. Without that maturity, it didn't mix well. Especially when dumb decisions were made.

"John. We're gonna be late for school."

John and Derek were interrupted from their confrontation when Cameron spoke up. They both turned and saw the young cyborg standing stiffly at the doorway with her book bag around her. John gave his uncle one last glare before he grabbed his own and followed Cameron out the door.

With them finally gone, Derek filled himself two cups of coffee and grabbed some aspirin from the shelf. He walked into the living room, and set down the second cup, as well as the aspirin, on the coffee table and sat in the recliner just opposite of the sofa. He sat back in the chair and relaxed for a while until the Hybrid had awoken abruptly from her slumber, and rubbed her head.

"Good Morning." Derek grumbled as Alex slowly sat up. He chuckled when she squinted and covered her eyes, trying to shield them from the back porch terrace windows.

"What happened?" Alex groaned tiredly. She looked around and saw herself on the couch and Derek sitting in the chair watching her.

"After your little fit of rage, I found you at a bar. You've had a bit too much to drink, so I went ahead and drove you home." Derek explained. "I left you some aspirin and coffee by the way."

Alex built up the courage to open her eyes fully and popped a few aspirin tablets into her mouth and started slowly sipping her coffee. Derek watched in amazement. He never would do this for just anyone, but he was very curious about something. "So. I never knew Hybrids could get drunk."

"Me neither." Alex answered truthfully. "I was never much for drinking. At least now I know."

"Don't worry, with your luck, you'll gag the next time you smell alcohol," Derek gave a well hearted laugh. He got up from his chair and went back into the kitchen.

"Hopefully," Alex sighed heavily, making sure to keep her face hidden as the sun was too bright for her liking.

After a moment, Sarah came downstairs, fully dressed for today. She was normally an early riser, but due to arriving home late last night, she accidentally slept in for two more hours. John wasn't in his room, nor the bathroom. She wanted to talk to her son, so she decided to check the kitchen for and maybe start on breakfast for him if possible. However, she looked in the kitchen, only finding Derek present. "Where is John?" She inquired.

"Went to school." Derek simply answered.

"He's still recovering. Why would he do that?" Sarah asked worryingly.

"He just wants to be close to the machine, that's why." Derek pointed out.

Sarah only gave Derek a long glare, and left the kitchen, and did back into the living room. There, she saw Alex lying on the couch, with her holding a pillow over her face. _Is she trying to suffocate herself?_

"What are you doing?" She then asked the Hybrid.

"The sun is too bright, and you're too loud!" Alex groaned in a muffled voice.

"Charming," Sarah mumbled as she rolled her eyes. Due to her grumpy attitude; her sensitivity to light and sound, she concluded that Alex had a drink or two last night. If would make sense considering she disappeared after her little outburst.

She just hoped John would be okay today. She was still sceptical about whether Tin Miss was truly okay, or if she was a ticking bomb just waiting to go off. Just giving her free rein over John sometimes was a bad idea when she was known for being unpredictable.

Sarah looked at her watch, which read _7:53._ Two days of her plans going awry, and no time to make them up. She needed to get started on their next course of action. Looking at those blood written names being their main source, next to seeing what Keran knew.

•••

The way to school was very silent. A bit too silent for John's liking. This time it was Cameron who drove, and it was him in the passenger's seat. She didn't say anything to him and had her eyes locked on the road. With her, he knew she wasn't much for starting up the conversation, nor was she able to feel awkward in uncomfortable silence. But he did, and he absolutely did not enjoy it. He needed to break the ice and dig to the bottom of this. He needed to find out whether she was okay after yesterday's experience.

The black Dodge Ram pulled into the school parking lot, and Cameron parked close, towards the entrance as she was able. When she shut off the truck engine, and was ready to head inside, John lightly grabbed her wrist, redirecting her full attention on him.

"How are you feeling?" John asked.

Cameron tilted her head to the side and spoke with confusion. "I don't understand the question?"

"After what happened yesterday, how do you feel?"

Cameron returned her head back to its upright position, and gave that question some thought before answering. "Yesterday I have appeared to have been in two different locations throughout the entire day and I don't recall being there. My chronometer has also appeared to have a large time gap. I only remember being at the hospital with you, Alex and Kacy. Then I remembered being in our bathtub."

John only nodded in acceptance, until Cameron spoke again.

"John. Why was I in our bathtub with my clothes on?" Cameron curiously inquired.

"It's…. Nothing really. Alex was gonna….. take a bath and you slipped on some water and fell in." Never did he ever think about lying to Cameron about this. He wanted to tell her the truth about what Alex had attempted at doing, but wasn't sure if Cameron would now see her as a threat and try to kill her. More conflict was not needed. There was already too much problems to deal with, without adding a terminator brawl to the mix. "Do you remember anything after the hospital and waking up in the bathtub? Anything at all?"

Immediately, Cameron shook her head once. "No. Should I?"

John looked crestfallen and looked at the dashboard of the truck. "What about when I cleaned your arms from those cuts? Do you remember that?"

This time Cameron nodded, but her face was still blank. "Yes. You were giving me a helping hand, although I did not require it as I am more than capable of repairing myself."

"Then why did you hold my hand!?" John then unexpectedly blurted out. He felt stupid, but the words were already out of his mouth and Cameron already had an answer for his question.

"My hand was possibly damaged after the fight with the T-950. I may be experiencing some involuntary movements to my servo motors." She looked down at her hand and studied it before looking back up at John with a more serious expression. "That was very dangerous. I could have hurt you."

To say the least, he was outraged. "So what? You're gonna scold me for being a friend?"

"No. But what you did is unnecessary, and could cause complications if you were to try fixing me again. I recommend that you don't do that or there is a 67.5 percent chance that your hand will be broken next time by my involuntary movements."

John looked at out the window in a mixture of sadness and disgust. His cyborg protector didn't appreciate the help he tried to do, and instead confronted him on the matter of acting in selflessness. The bell rang, signaling the start of class. He looked towards the school and saw everyone walking inside.

"Also, our relationship as friends will cause problems in my mission to protect you."

Again, John looked at her with a mixture of hurt and anger boiling over. "What?"

Cameron didn't immediately answer John's inquiry, and she collected her bag from the back seat. "I think we need to discuss this later, John. We can't afford to be late."

John reluctantly followed after Cameron, and the two walked to their first hour, being Chemistry. On the way, as he watched her lead, he felt conflicted with what she had just said. After everything he has done for her this past weekend, everything he has had attempted to do, to mend their broken relationship back together, she was telling him to piss off? What did she want to say that couldn't be said now? Why did it have to be said to him later?

 _Well this is just great. A cyborg is possibly mad at me._

Right now he'd have to shrug those thoughts off, because as he entered the class room, in Cherie's old spot someone else sat in her place. Someone whom he immediately recognized and had a feeling that wouldn't be too happy to see him after not keeping up with his promise not to call back.

"Emily? What are you doing in here!?" John whispered in surprise as he sat right next to her.

Emily seemed to perk up as John took a seat right next to her, as his seat was located there. She heard his question and decided to answer. "The counselor changed my schedule to better suit how easily I can get to my locker during passing period." Emily explained with a smile. "The teacher said the person who sat here was no longer on his roster so he assigned me here."

What a strange stroke of luck. If he didn't know better, he would have thought Emily killed Cherie or something in order to be more closer to him. But that was crazy. He knew she wouldn't do that. Maybe he just spent too much time with machines and was acting on pure paranoia. But now he wondered what happened to Cherie. She was here during the start of last week, but disappeared after Wednesday. He just excused it as some sort of cold or family emergency that needed to be taken care of on short notice.

"I'm glad your in this class too, though." Emily offered a smirk. John only acknowledged the smile, and looked at his notebook. As much as he was actually delighted that she be in this class, what Cameron said not too long ago, stuck like honey to feathers. He looked behind him, and at Cameron who was stiffly sitting on her stool and was intently watching the windows and exits. Her gaze also fell on he and Emily for a brief moment before she would continue to scan the room.

 _Even today was gonna be a long day._

 ** _Connor Safehouse:_**

None of this made any sense. All of these names- these locations, and yet, none made any sense as to how they dealt with Skynet's creation. Sarah meticulously studied the notebook copy of the blood written wall with intent, trying to comprehend something. There was a few that were luckily already scratched off. Greenway, Martin Bedell, and Hector Fonseca.

The next name on the list was a Boyd Sherman. But what is their connection to Skynet? How did they potentially play a role in either it's creation or destruction? She had so many questions, yet so little answers.

Sarah looked into the living room, only to see Alex still lying on the sofa, watching television. She sighed heavily, knowing that this Hybrid girl was going through what seemed like a depression of some sorts. Alex did enjoy watching television, as did Derek. It was a past time they came to enjoy after living most of their lives without any knowledge of what it was. Only were there artifacts of such devices. They were what the world once was.

But in her opinion, the Tin Head was watching too much television. It couldn't be healthy, even for a terminator slash human hybrid. There had to be something that she could do besides lay there and do nothing but stare into a box of moving pictures for hours on end.

Sarah set the notebook down, and began to ponder on what could she do. Under given circumstances, she never really cared about what Alex did in her free time until she was needed for a mission. But after what she proclaimed last night- what she said about this whole household being broken. This couldn't stand. She needed to put aside her feelings for Alex and try to fix everything.

An idea popped into her head as she looked back down at the notebook of inscriptions. Someone from the future had to possibly have knowledge on some of the things in here. Sarah grabbed the notebook, and walked out of the kitchen, and into the living room, over to Alex and stood in front of the Hybrid, blocking her view from the television.

Alex, in turn, iratably looked up at the woman. "What?"

"You've been lying there all morning. If you're not gonna go to work then how about you at least help me with trying to find Skynet?" Sarah proposed with a smile.

"Sarah, honestly what can I do?" Alex inquired and sat up. "I thought I was more muscle than brains to you?"

"You are from the future, and that means that you know more than I do." Sarah handed the notebook to Alex and pointed at the name she was looking at next. "Do you know who they are?"

As Sarah sat down next to her, Alex looked at the name, and studied it. A moment later, she handed the book back to Sarah. "No. Sorry."

"That's alright." Sarah huffed and put the notebook on the coffee table. The two sat in silence, with Sarah finding immediate interest in what Alex was watching on the television. It was a game show, but a very interesting one. She wondered what people would have to do for them to be on live television and win outrageous prizes. It had to be staged sadly. Knowing that made it less interesting, and the thought of being like these people diminished as she could no longer relate to what it must be like to win a new car, or a million dollars.

After a few minutes of watching, Sarah snatched the remote and turned it off. She stood up with a smile on her face. Alex only looked up at the woman with confusion. Sarah Connor never smiled like that and she was dreading to even ask. "What?"

"Well we do need a new car, so I was thinking that after that we could go somewhere?"

 _This is it. Sarah Connor has completely lost it._ "You want to spend time with me?"

Sarah shrugged. "Well it's either that or you can stay here and mope around all day."

"Sarah, no offense but I always assumed that you didn't like me." Alex strongly pointed out.

Sarah frowned in response to Alex's accusation. "Why would you think that?"

"Because I am half machine and you literally give me shit on every mission, and when I do something wrong. You call me Tin Head more than you actually address me by my actual name!"

Sarah stood in disbelief. She never realized that she treated Alex so poorly. When she first met Alex, she only treated her horrible because she didn't understand what she was. Prior to her, she never even knew the existence of half human and half machines. Thinking of a future where Skynet thought of more ways to kill humans was the exact opposite from what Kyle told her. The creative ways that Skynet would implement both man and machine into one, or making a terminator completely based off of living liquid metal. There was no way of knowing what the future would exactly be like.

"I'm sorry, Alex." Sarah looked towards the floor. "I didn't realize it hurt you like that. Why didn't you say anything?"

"If there was one thing I remember your future son mentioning about you, it was that you were very persistent and arrogant. I thought it was a waste of time to try and get you to like and accept me…. I gave up trying to change people's minds about me years ago." She then sadly muttered that last sentence to herself.

 _Damn, Sarah, you are the cause of a depressed cyborg. Now you've seen everything._

This was the time now. Not to just begin repairs on their family, but to fix her relations with Alex as well. "You know what. If you come with me to get this new car, you can help me pick it out, and I will also buy you a replacement blouse," Sarah suggested with smile. Alex chuckled and got up off the couch for the first time today. Her hair was all tangled up, and she still reeked of alcohol. "After you take a shower." She then added while holding her nose.

Alex nodded in acceptance and went upstairs to get ready. While she was gone, Sarah looked back at the notebook of names. If they were to begin properly hunting for Skynet, then working as a team would be very crucial. To do that, she would need to build up that relationship with not just Alex, but her son, Derek…. And even Cameron. No matter how much she despises the machine for going against her word time and time again, she would have to build trust up with her. The machine would need to do the same if they were to find any common ground.

 ** _Los Angeles, California, December 10, 2007: (Campo de Cahuenga High School)_**

School was the worst place to be in when you were waiting for something. When you were desperate to talk to someone and you were forced to wait for hours at a time just to be able to ask them something.

After this morning, for John at least, it seemed to go by too slow for his liking. First period was uncomfortably long as well as the next two periods that surpassed it. Having Cameron in every single class was difficult. He just wanted a chance to talk to her without the teacher interrupting them. But he knew he couldn't. Not right now with a whole lot of people who could, and possibly would listen in. Even during passing periods, he would lose her as she was the first one out the door and the first in the next class.

Was she ignoring him? After this morning's little discussion, she had done everything possible to avoid talking to him. She wouldn't wait up for him, she wouldn't stop when he called out to her. Even when he finally entered the class room, she would ignore his questions as she would be too busy to talk to him by copying the class objective off the whiteboard. When class would start, that was when he was completely cut off from communicating with her.

He needed to wait until lunch to talk to her. Maybe she would sit with him this time as he has at least been treating her with more respect now.

John waited in anticipation as he sat in his history class, only looking up at the clock and ignoring everything that Mrs. Renfro was going over. From what he could tell, it was something about the American Civil War, but he didn't really care much about it. If anything, he knew more about the history than most, considering how similar his role would be in the coming future.

When the bell finally rang, he was relieved that it was lunch. The only free period that he would have throughout the entire day. Now he could finally talk to Cameron, and get answers as to why she is acting the way she is. John sprang up, out of his seat, and chased after his cyborg companion, whom had already collected her things and was walking out of class and down the hall.

Careful not to start running, he walked at a much faster pace than she, and eventually caught up with her, and began walking alongside her, trying to match her default walking speed.

"Cameron, I need to talk to you." Finally, he was happy to find that she had answered him.

"Yes?" She looked at John with curiosity.

John took a deep breath, mentally trying to word what he was going to say, trying to pick his words carefully. "I need to know what you meant by _'we need to discuss our relationship.'_ " Cameron stopped at her locker and opened it where she uploaded her history book, in exchange for her English textbook. However she didn't answer his question, and he was confused as to why. _Is she actually avoiding me?_ "Hello, did you hear what I just said?" he persisted.

"Not here." Cameron flatly answered.

"What do you mean? What can't you say to me now that you can say to me then?"

"John-"

"Why can't you just tell me!?"

"Because I can't. Not here when over thirty three people are bound to hear our conversation." She answered blankly.

"Then meet me outside. We need to talk." John demanded as his patience was running thin.

"Very well. Follow me." Cameron agreed finally.

John followed her outside to a secluded spot where she agreed to talk. _Finally._

"Yes, John?" She asked in her usual manner.

"Why are you avoiding me, Cameron?" John asked, getting straight to the point. "It's like whenever I want to talk, you would always leave or ignore me. What changed?"

Cameron stared into his eyes for a moment before answering. "You did. I did. And everything else too. When we first met, even after you knew my true nature, you were my friend. Then, you stopped being friends with me. You hated me." Cameron explained.

At this point John wanted to intervene, because she got it all wrong. He never hated her. But Cameron cut him off.

"You wanted me to stay away from you. You even pushed me from the truck so you could get away from me. I was confused then, but now I understand. You don't want a machine around you anymore. So I am merely respecting your wish. But don't worry, I will be there _for you_ when you will need me, because that is what I am programmed for."

John opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to find a plausible statement to argue with her. But he couldn't. He knew what she said was true. Except the part about him hating her. He couldn't fathom the idea that she believed that.

"I hope that answers your questions. Now I have a class to attend. So if you will please excuse me." She stepped past him and went back inside the building where John lost her into the crowds of students coming and leaving.

As Cameron stepped past him, her blank face contorted into an expression of sheer anguish and pain. Tears streamed down her eyes, but she quickly rubbed them away before anyone could see her like that. John wanted answers and she gave him them. She also practically told him how she felt, but she knew he will never catch on what she said: " _I will be there for you when you will need me._ " It is because he once told her not to lie to him anymore and so she didn't.

John had his head bowed down in shame. How could he treat her like he did? No wonder she is so pissed at him. But is she really or this is just her cold calculation? John wondered these things inside his mind. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't spot the blonde haired girl behind him.

When he felt something tug on his hoodie sleeve, John broke out of his thoughts and turned around where Emily was looking up at him with concern. "John? Are you okay? You seem to be… upset."

John took one last glance at the school entrance where Cameron disappeared and looked back at Emily. "Yeah. I'm... I'm okay." He said reassuringly. Emily smiled in return and she grabbed John by the wrist and led him back into the school building and into the cafeteria. Once in the mess hall, he and Emily stood in the ridiculously long line, waiting for their food.

While Emily talked non stop in the lunch line, John couldn't help but half heartedly listen. His eyes kept wondering at the table that Cameron sat at, alone. The same table she kept sitting at for the past month when he always left her alone. The same one that she, he and Chloe hung out at for time they had with her. He did notice, but at the time he didn't care. Right when she and he drifted apart and he wanted to distance himself as far away from her as possible.

"So yeah, that's how I ended up getting this scar."

John looked at Emily with surprise. He wasn't paying much attention to what she was saying. "Wait what?"

"This scar." Emily lifted her wavy blonde hair. There, John saw a vertical mark that ran up the middle of her neck. "When I was a child I fell off my bike and almost broke my neck. My mother took me to the hospital and the doctors had to look at the inside or something in order to see if it was in fact broken."

"Oh." John nodded in acknowledgement. "Well I'm guessing that since you can walk, nothing was wrong?"

"Nope. Turns out it was just a small fracture and I had to wear one of those neck braces for almost a year until it healed." Emily explained. "Are you sure you're okay, John? I was just talking about this."

"Yes, I am okay. Why wouldn't I be?" John inquired.

"Are you sure?" Emily inquired with concern. "You just seem very…. Off, today."

"Emily, I assure you, I am fine. I just had a very crazy weekend, that's all."

Although Emily didn't seem too satisfied with that answer, she reluctantly accepted his claim, and changed the subject. The two continued to make small conversation between each other while they waited for their food. Once they had retrieved their lunch, Emily and John looked for any place, that wasn't crowded, to sit at. Luckily they found a table across the cafeteria. They both silently ate while John still occasionally glanced at Cameron who was still sitting at the table in her typical fashion. A stiff posture, and thousand yard stare that would instil uncomfortably to even the most hardened football player.

Doubts filled every square inch of his mind. Doubts about whether what had happened these past few days were real, or if they were just some sort of trick. Some glitch like he once concluded. That smile he saw more recently that made him feel warm inside. That conversation they had in the hospital cafeteria before she inevitably lost her memory and ran away. For once, in a long time, he felt like he could talk to her, see past that cold terminator stare and see some life in her eyes when they fell on him. Even when he treated her like absolute garbage. Was it all fake? Some sort of ploy to lower his guard so that she may become closer with him once more? So he would no longer push her away and she could fulfil her mission to protect him?

"So I was wondering what happened after you left on Saturday." Emily attempted at sparking up a conversation. "You never did call me back by the way."

"I'm sorry. My other sister…. Alex, hurt herself, so she had to go to the hospital. It was only a minor things and she was able to go home so there was nothing to worry about."

Emily looked at John with concern again, but ultimately smiled. "Is she okay now?"

"Yeah, she is just resting at home right now." John assured. _Mostly because she was drunk and me shooting her in the back,_ John added that last bit mentally.

"That's a relief," Emily sighed.

She looked back at John and found his gaze was not on her but on Cameron. He had a sad expression on his face, mixed with something else that she couldn't quite understand. This made her slightly irritated.

"John did something happen between you and Cameron?" Emily asked softly, trying to hide her irritation.

"I…. I hurt her. I acted like an asshole to her. I…." John couldn't say anymore.

Emily gently placed her hand on top of his and gave a reassuring squeeze. At the sudden contact, John was surprised and looked back to Emily. "Hey, listen. You are a good guy, John. Whatever happened between you and your sister, was a mistake. But the positive thing is that you understand that you did something wrong and I am sure your sister will forgive you eventually. Don't worry," she tried to console him with a smile. But it hardly worked.

John still appeared to be upset, and Emily was not someone who would give up easily. A small smile crept on her face as an idea to cheer him up came to mind. "Hey, John, have you heard about the Winter Ball?"

"Ah, what?" John asked distractedly as he looked back at her.

"The Winter Ball," Emily repeated with a sweet, perky smile. "The one this Saturday? You know… before Winter Break."

"Oh. Yeah, that one. Why do you ask?" John inquired with puzzlement.

"I was wondering…. Um…. whether….um…. You will be interested to be my partner in that dance?" Emily asked shyly, her cheeks turning rosy.

John was dumbfounded to say the least. A pretty, beautiful girl like Emily is asking him to a winter dance? "Ah….." John hesitated.

"I completely understand if you want to go with someone else," Emily said with a bit of disappointment.

John's eyes widened in horror. "No! I mean, of course I will go with you, Emily. I would be glad to."

Emily's look of sadness turned into a full smile. She leaned forward and gave John a peck on the cheek. Both the teenagers blushed after this awkward exchange, and their eyes diverted elsewhere in the cafeteria.

"So, it's settled. We will discuss the time we will meet, over the phone?" Emily suggested, while getting up, making sure to grab her almost empty lunch tray, and her school bag.

"That will be great." John agreed with a smile.

The two made their way to the nearest trash bin and dumped the food that they didn't eat. The bell then rang, signaling the start of fifth period. John groaned. English was his absolutely most hated class, next to Geometry.

"Well, we better get to class. I can't be late for Ms. Johnson's class..." John groaned tiredly.

"Yes, we should," Emily agreed with a giggle. "Come on." She weaved her right arm through John's left arm, and the two began making the trek through the halls. John blushed at this gesture but smiled nonetheless. As both the teenagers headed for their classes, neither of them noticed a pair of eyes that was burning a hole through Emily's back, with the most dangerous glare anyone had ever seen.

 ** _Los Angeles, California, December 10, 2007: (Alex Sarah)_**

Surprisingly, today went fairly well. She managed to not piss off Sarah which was a Godsend. They first took a cab down to the used car dealership, and bought a 2006 Cadillac Escalade for a reasonable price. Sarah was just happy that Derek had managed to recover the diamonds back at the old safehouse, or otherwise, they wouldn't be able to afford such a luxurious vehicle as this one. Now that they had another source of transportation instead of Derek's beat up Dodge Ram, they could now spread out their focuses elsewhere.

Speaking of which, they will also need to fix the cosmetic damage to the truck if they are going to be able to continuously use it. Going around with plastic bag covered windows, and a dent that gave you the suspicion that the truck came into contact with either a very small dog, or a very large cat. The authorities will certainly question whether the vehicle was stolen or not. That will arise a lot of unwanted attention on them and even possibly, it could lead any of them to being arrested for crimes they are thought to have committed years ago.

Both Sarah and Alex sat in a small booth, in a diner not too far away from the dealership. Sarah agreed to bribe Alex with food if she tagged along in which she was certainly delighted to attend. Food was food, and it definitely beat Sarah's dry, slightly burnt, pancakes. Although, any food beat what the future had. Either old MRES, canned goods that have expired beyond their expiration date, and Rats. Anything could he made from those little creatures. Rat jerky being her absolutely most hated one. Rat in general was her most hated food.

Now the two sat quietly, waiting for their food, while treating themselves to some complementary salsa and tortilla chips.

Sarah was glad to see that instead of the relaxed, sad, look Alex mainly displayed for the past few hours, her eyes at least said otherwise. They were more widened, but that was probably because of the incoming food.

"So, Tin Hea-Alex… about what you said last night," Sarah began, breaking the silence between the two.

Alex took her attention away from the amazing appetizer and looked up at the hardened woman. "Look, I may have over exaggerated about John kissing Cameron."

"Not that," Sarah shook her head, fighting the urge not to gag. Never did she like the thought of John making out with a machine creeping into her mind. "What you said about this family being broken."

Alex put down her tortilla chip and sighed. "Oh… that."

"Yeah… that." Sarah agreed.

"Well I know we aren't family, so I just worded it wrong, alright?" Alex attempted at explaining. "I meant team or something like that."

"No, no, no, no, it's alright. I understand what you meant by that, although we haven't even been much of a team. We all have been through a lot together. Nothing has been the same since Chloe's death. We have all been assholes to one another, and we haven't been able to find any common ground lately. And even though I always treat you and Cameron badly… you have risked your life time and time again to save me, and John. Like that Club Venus shootout, or when you selflessly pushed us all out of the way and took a whole damn radio tower for us. I have taken you for granted and I'm sorry for that. You have done so much for us."

Alex couldn't help but blush and a bright smile formed on her face. "Thank you, Sarah." _Guess she isn't always a hard ass._

"No problem." Sarah returned the smile back, until that serious expression came back. "Now, if you ever mention this to Derek, I'll burn you myself."

 _Yup, there is the Sarah Connor I know._ Alex nodded in acceptance. Soon the the food came, and the two began to dig into their freshly prepared meal.

 ** _Los Angeles, California, December 10, 2007: (Cameron and John)_**

The rest of school went by too slow. Even slower than before lunch. Having what your best friend proclaim about you hating her and not wanting her around anymore, hurt. Better yet, there was nothing worse than having it stick in your head for the entire day. It never helped that she was in every single one of his classes, including gym. All she ever did in that class was run laps around the track without stopping once. Surely someone should have been skeptic. But alas, the coach gave her extra credit, while he was sent to the nurse as he was too distracted and got hit in the face with a football by Morris.

Now having swelling growing on his cheek, all he did was wait in their last hour of class; which was Geometry. The one class he hated more than anything. He paid zero attention to what the teacher was saying, as his mind had drifted elsewhere. Avoiding Cameron's direction was his attempt. Trying to avoid looking at her, so he would stop questioning any of her recent motives. But he couldn't, his guard would give in, and he'd glance at her, if only for a second, and those thoughts would resurface. And there was something else. Suddenly he wanted to be with her all the time, help her, _which she hardly needs,_ and make her understand things. He felt a sudden warmth within him whenever she is near him. What the hell is wrong with him?

At the moment, she was copying down notes off the whiteboard, that the teacher was writing down. Under such circumstances, he would just copy down her written notes later, and he'd be okay for the open note tests that the teacher would occasionally allow. But with everything going on today, he had a feeling that she would be more protective of her book bag. With his luck she'd hide it somewhere.

Quickly, John took out his notebook, and hastily began jotting down the notes off the board so quickly, that he wasn't worried about neatness. By this point, he was certain that they looked like they were written by a five year old.

Soon, the bell rang, signaling the end of class. John looked up on the clock. _Where did the time go?_

John put away his notebook, and grabbed his bag, ready to follow Cameron. This was the time he would actually be able to talk to her. Finally, he could get some answers.

"Everyone stay in your seats!" Mr. Clay ordered. Everyone, including Cameron obediently sat back down, and gave the teacher half of their undivided attention. "I just want to say, I graded all of your tests from last Monday, and I'm quite pleased with all of your work. Some were quite weak, but I was generous and saw what you attempted."

 _Just another ass kissing by dear old Mister Clay,_ John mentally rolled his eyes. He was an alright teacher, if not, he would be better if he would stop assigning a ton of homework.

"There is one individual in particular I would like to congratulate, however," Mr. Clay continued. "Cameron Baum scored a perfect 100 percent on her test, without notes if I may add. Everyone give her a hand." Everyone did so, and all applauded the young girl, who in which just returned a stoic gaze among the classroom.

Again, John mentally rolled his eyes. To everyone else, she was a genius. But he knew that she had the most sophisticated mind that surpassed every computer on this world. All except Skynet. She had probably scanned through the whole textbook and knew every answer it held. Back at the old safehouse, she was more than willing to do his and Chloe's homework. That just goes to show that sometimes, ignorance is bliss.

"Okay, everyone, now you may leave. Have a great rest of your day, and make sure to study for Friday's quiz!" Everyone immediately sprang up, and began piling out of class, one by one. As John began to leave, Cameron stopped in the doorway when Mr. Clay called out for her and another student. "Miss Baum, Mr. Huntington. I also need to speak with the two of you. Privately."

Cameron gave John one small glance, before turning and walking up to the teachers desk, where Drake was already standing at.

He completely forgot that Drake was in this class. Considering he was a Junior, he had to retake the class, thus being put into one without his friends. He was fairly quiet without his little boyband. Before John left, he gave Drake one small glare, before deciding to wait for Cameron by the truck.

"So. Mr. Huntington. I didn't want to embarrass you in front of your peers, but you are failing this class. I think you need tutoring."

"Wait, tutoring? Why would I need that?" Drake inquired.

Mr. Clay pulled out a piece of paper and slid it over to Drake. "You made a 35 on the test. Before that, it was a 36 percent."

"Okay, okay, I may have been slacking, somewhat." Drake admitted.

"Slacking is a softer term to describe what you are doing, Drake. If you don't do better, you might not graduate." Drake looked at the destiny sheepishly, and Mr. Clay looked over at Cameron who stood idly. "Miss, Baum, with your grade in my class surpassing everyone else, I would like for you to tutor Mr. Huntington. Friday's test is coming up, and he will need all the help he can get."

Suddenly, a smile formed on Drake's face that he immediately hid with a smug look.

"Yes, sir," Cameron simply answered. "I will help Drake study."

"Good." Mr. Clay smiled in satisfaction. "You two are free to go now."

With that said, the two turned and left the classroom. Cameron began making her way towards the front exit, to the truck, until Drake stopped her in the hall.

"Cameron, wait!" She did so, and stopped, allowing him to catch up to her. "So I was thinking… since Mr. Clay wants you to tutor me, maybe we can…. Hang out after school and head to my place?" Cameron took a moment to ponder on that suggestion. "Or it doesn't have to be my house. It can be yours, or the library or something. I even know this great Italian restaurant that we can go to. If you're interested, or course."

"I will have to think about it," Cameron responded stoically. "I have to get my brother home safely."

"Oh. Okay, then." Drake accepted. "Well, just let me know soon. That test is going to be pretty difficult from what Mr. Clay was saying."

"I'll give you a definite answer tomorrow." Cameron finished. She turned around and left Drake standing in the hallway, and began heading towards the truck. As he watched her leave, he had a grin on his face, and when she was out of his sights, he thrusted his fist up in the air in excitement.

•••

The ride was again, silent. After waiting for several minutes for Cameron, she had said nothing and the two continued to drive home. Alex was normally the one who drove for the past moth. But with her outburst yesterday, and getting drunk, she decided not to show up to school with them. It seemed that this entire weekend was the catalyst for bad things to come? Maybe change like what he theorized. Either way, he would need to find some way to apologize to Cameron for whatever he did, so that he may make it right again. So that they wouldn't be back to square one of being distant.

As they came to the four way stop that intersected into their neighborhood, he was dumbfounded to find that instead of turning right, Cameron had turned onto the left lane, making a complete opposite turn.

"Where are we going?" John asked.

"I need to show you something." She simply acknowledged. Even though he wanted to press her with further questions, John ultimately decided to take that as his answer for the time being, and the two continued along the highway. They drove for a few more blocks until Cameron turned left into another neighborhood. Soon, they approached what was an old, burnt house. Immediately, John recognized the place. It was one that they'd never return to.

"Why are we here?" John demanded angrily.

Cameron didn't answer him, and instead drove around the house and parked in the alleyway. She got out and started making her way into the backyard, prompting John to follow. Everything was more more or less the same. Aside from the house being burnt to a crisp, the backyard was as they left it. The swing set was in its original place, and even Cameron's clay school art project hung from the porch deck. The house appeared to be marked for deconstruction, as the fire and water heater explosion had weakened the structure. He wouldn't be surprised if all their left belongings were still in there as well as the blood stained floor.

He shivered at that thought, and pushed it to the back of his mind.

Why would they be here? There was no reason to return to this old safehouse. It was deemed a loss cause and a dangerous place to return to.

This was it. He was tired of having the silent treatment. He followed Cameron in to the old shed, and confronted her. Nothing held back. "Cameron, answer me, Goddammit! Why are we back here!?" He demanded again, in a more oppressive tone.

Cameron looked up at John who was inches away from her face, and tilted her head. She backed away from him and walked up to a tarp that was draped over an object in the middle. She undid the tarp, revealing what was underneath. John's eyes widened. In a pit of cinder blocks, was the very thing that he feared for so long. The very thing that conflicted his mind over and over again with having a face he both feared and loved. Family was what he once considered it to be. But not this one.

"We need to burn the body and the chip." Cameron finally answered. She grabbed a can off the shelf, which John saw it to be thermite.

John noticed something in particular about this terminator. The last time he confronted her, its hair was jet black. But now it was back to its original blonde color. it also appeared to be much shorter than before. "What happened to her hair?"

"I cut it off with attempts to remove the skin beforehand, but found there to be an issue."

John looked at Cameron with confusion. "An issue?"

"Time restraint being the most common issue. Construction workers occasionally come down here, so I have had no time to properly dispose of the skin without creating a mess." She explained rather simply as she walked over to John, and handed him the can, along with a lighter. "Her skin heals rapidly due to the Mimetic Poly Alloy quickly healing any incision I make. Her hair is the same way, as it grows at a much more accelerated rate."

John took the can of thermite from Cameron and walked around the pit. He looked at the can one last time and then the body of the terminatrix. With that in mind, he dumped the entire can methodically, so it was covering every inch of her body. After that was done, he tossed the can to the side and grabbed the lighter, flicking it on with one thumb swipe. He lowered the flame near the small pile of thermite, only to stop inches away. He froze as he looked at the machine again.

The way her short blonde hair covered half her face, and her eyes remained closed. Why was it so hard to do it? This machine is hardwired to kill him. No matter how similar this machine looked to Chloe, it will never be her. She died in the very house only a few yards away from them. This machine was not her.

Then why was it so hard?

John released the lighter and backed away in distraught. He looked across the pit at Cameron who in turn, was looking at him with puzzlement. "Why did you stop?"

"I can't do this." John admitted.

"I'll do it then." Cameron flatly suggested and held out her hand for the lighter, as she walked closer to him.

John put away the lighter as far away from her as possible and shook his head. "No you're not doing it either. Neither is Derek, or Mom, or even Alex. There has to be some other way."

"There is no other way." Cameron glared at John. "Give me the lighter or I will take it from you."

"Then you'll have to kill me because I am not letting you burn her."

"John, you are being illogical. This terminator's main objective is to kill you. It's not Chloe Reese."

"Oh, I'm being illogical?" John inquired as he crossed his arms. "What about you, huh? Why are you acting like this? I apologized to you for being such an asshole, yet you are treating it the same way as when you told me that _'I can't be trusted!'_ "

"You never truly apologized for the way you acted for the past month. You only apologized for pushing me out of the truck. You never meant any of it!"

John was, like earlier today, stunned by this display of emotion coming from Cameron's voice. Instead of it being a statement, it sounded like she blamed him for her ignoring him. A machine blamed him for being rude to her- for pushing her out of a truck. For many other things that he wasn't sure he did.

"I only ignored you because that is what you want! You don't like when I interfere with your personal life, although I'm trying to protect you! It's hard to complete that objective when I am constantly being pushed away. So yes, John Connor, I have been avoiding you. But that's because you want nothing to do with me!"

"Do you not remember what you said to me between those trucks a month ago? Did you forget what you said to me?"

"I don't know what you are talking about."

In anger, John slammed his fist on the cinder blocks, causing pain to shoot up his wrist. He didn't care. He was too frustrated to worry about the pain in his side and the throbbing of his wrist. "You told me that you loved me. You pleaded that I don't take out your chip. So what the fuck was I supposed to do with that? Seeing you burning in a pit of thermite with those words ringing through my mind?"

Upon hearing this, Cameron took a large step back and her face turned from that of emotion, back to its lifeless death mask. "That's illogical, John. I'm a machine. What I told you was a ploy to lower your guard. I don't remember anything from the time I went to go retrieve a birthday cake under Alex's orders, to the time I was reactivated in a pit of Thermite."

Why did he expect something more from her? Was it because her Allison personality tried to kiss him? Maybe he was just giving his hopes up. Maybe he was thinking like how all guys did. Not with their brain. "Yeah? Well I guess I feel pretty damn stupid then." He looked back down at the thermite covered machine. "For once you are gonna follow my orders. _We are not burning her."_

"Your mother, and more specifically, Derek Reese will not be happy to find that we kept the T-950."

"It's not their choice, it's mine. I still have her chip. You told me that in the future, I can reprogram other machines, right?"

Cameron simply nodded in a reserved fashion. "You reprogrammed a majority of the machines in the Resistance as well as me."

"Then that means that I can do this. I was already able to hack Vick's chip when we were looking into the ARTIE system. Give me some time and instead of wasting something that could have potential value to our cause, we can utilize it. Use it to fight for us."

"This isn't the right thing to do, John." Cameron persisted.

"Well how about you listen to me for once in your Goddamn life! If I am supposed to become this great leader then how about you listen to what I have to say!?"

Cameron didn't answer immediately, and only glared daggers at him. "Fine. We will do it your way." With that, she grabbed the T-950 body and slung it over her shoulders.

"What are you doing?" John inquired.

Cameron turned around to look back at John. "You said that you wanted me to listen to you. That's what I am doing. This location is compromised, as it is scheduled for deconstruction in two weeks. We need a new location to hide her."

Not giving John another chance to respond, she turned and stalked her way to the truck, while carrying the T-950 on her shoulders. Before following, John took one last look at the makeshift thermite pit. He just hoped that he was not gonna regret this. In a sense, he was resurrecting an old face. One that Derek will definitely not enjoy seeing on a machine. It will be like how Alex views Cameron. His mother would be more skeptic to the machine than she is at Cameron.

He wondered if he was doing the right thing. If bringing such a machine back would be a terrible idea. His relationship with his family was already fragmented. Alex and he were definitely no longer on speaking terms. His mother and Uncle think he is just some immature creep that was a far cry from the future leader.

Now his and Cameron's relationship went from being sour, to back to normal, and now back to sour. He definitely expected that when they returned home, that this would be the last time she spoke to him today. With his luck he would be ignored like at school.

He felt like an idiot. What she did when he cleaned her wound, what happened at Cherie's party. It all had to be some trick. What she said was right, and he wondered why he expected so much more from her. She was just a machine. There was nothing, no matter how different she was. She would be like the rest. She would be a being made out of metal that only followed the code inside her chip, and the orders that she was given. She wasn't human, and she never will be.

•••

They both got home just as the sun was setting, marking the end of another day. Tomorrow would rinse and repeat just like today and he felt like he wasn't prepared for that.

After arriving back at the safehouse, there was no use in talking to anyone. John immediately set down his bag, only giving his mother a half assed acknowledgement, and went straight to his room. With the T-950 body hid in a safe location, and he having the chip, there was nothing better than disappearing into his room and beginning his work. Anything to take his mind off what happened today. Anything to avoid the pressures of having an entire family judge him for motives that he wasn't sure of yet.

Now as John sat at his own little desk in his room, he just fiddled with the T-950 chip in his hands as he thought long and hard on what to do with it. Whether doing what he had in mind would be right. To bring a machine that everyone was still sore about, in two ways, into their lives. To turn an enemy into their ally. To break a relationship with his uncle by showing up with what appeared to be Chloe, only for him to immediately know it wasn't her, and instead a terminator.

Other thoughts spilled into his mind as well. Thoughts of Cameron going berserk and losing her memory. From what he understood, from what Alex said at least, she thought she was this girl named Allison Young. A girl that Cameron was based off of. If that was in fact true, then that meant that Skynet did something. It somehow replicated memories or something. He wasn't sure exactly how, or why, but it did something that he was now curious about.

John looked back at the chip, and saw its light chrome coating glistening in the sunlight from outside. This chip was more advanced, more powerful than even Cameron's. Chloe mentioned that the T-950 series were designed with many benefits added to it. Everything from perfect infiltration, to weapons that it could bring through time. With that thought of Allison resurfacing, he wondered whether it's possible that even this one could hold memories of Chloe- to hold some sort of personality. The machine was in fact modeled after her likeness. Maybe under such circumstances, he could find a way to bring back his cousin?

John shook his head, forcing those thoughts deep down. What was he thinking, that was just sick. Trying to use a machine to replace someone he missed. Why would he resort to that? If he could successfully reprogram this terminator, she would be a tool. Nothing more, nothing less. Derek would never like the machine. Maybe he'd have a more hateful relationship towards the thing. But that wasn't his concern. His uncle would have to put aside his feelings. This terminator would serve as a tool in their effort.

 _*Knock, knock, knock, knock*_

If his door wasn't already busted, he would have said come in, but decided otherwise as the door had automatically opened, revealing his mother. He definitely needed to get that fixed. Before she could see, John hid the chip in his hoodie, and looked over at his mother who in turn waltzed right in and took a seat at the foot of his bed.

"We need to talk." Sarah began, getting straight to the point.

John reluctantly turned in his chair, so that his body was facing the woman. He kept his gaze faltered in attempts to avoid looking at his mother for too long. He had a general idea what she wanted to talk about. Nothing could prepare him for how he was going to answer her questions.

"I just want to apologize. For everything we've been through lately. Your birthday was a mess, and…. Well we haven't been connecting like we used to. I remember when you were a little boy and you had so many questions. But now, it's taken Alex for me to see that maybe I've been focusing too much on finding Skynet, and not enough on you."

He looked at his mother in astonishment. He fully expected the oncoming verbal assault on how Cameron was a machine and that he shouldn't have kissed her. Well he didn't luckily, but taking what Alex said, that was what his mother probably believed. "Is that all you wanted to say?"

"I've been a terrible mother. I understand that you want to be normal… but the thing is, you're not like other kids. I wanted for so long to not be a part of this whole life we're living. I didn't want machines, I didn't want my son in constant danger. I just want to be like the other mother's and deal with those issues; like dealing with taxes or what college you should look into and what career you want."

John place his hands in his hoodie where his hand came into contact with the chip again. That cold metallic feel made him feel something inside. Something that boiled.

"It took you an entire month."

Sarah looked at the ground in sorrow. "I know."

"When we buried Chloe, I had no one."

"I know," Sarah said pathetically.

"Cameron stopped trusting me, you and Alex were off finding us a new life, and Derek decided to get drunk all the damn time!"

Sarah was caught off guard by the way her son had suddenly raised his voice. Just like Alex, he reached his breaking point, and tears were threatening to pour from his eyes.

"Did you even care what happened? You and Alex already moved on when my cousin- your niece was shot right in front of us. You weren't there when Cameron almost killed me! You were there on the opposite side with Alex and Derek, ready to kill someone who I thought was important to me! And it took you up until now to say you're sorry?"

Sarah watched as her son had finally reached his breaking point. Tears began freely pouring from his eyes, and he started sobbing into his hands. In his mind he kept mentally berating himself. The future version would kick his ass right now if he were to ever see him like this. Over everything he's tried to keep locked away, it just came bursting out. Like a dam of emotion giving in to the pressure and crumbling in an instant.

Sarah was there to immediately engulf her son in her arms, and wrapped tightly around him, as his sobs gave way into her shoulder.

From the hallway, she watched the whole thing, picking out certain words within John's rant. John _thought_ she was important to him. _Thought_ was the key term used. If it was a mistaken verbal cry, she didn't know. But it sounded genuine. When someone reached heights of emotion like John was displaying, there was a 50 percent chance that he meant it. There was a chance that John successfully pushed her away again. It was possible that she pushed him away this time. All because of something she said.

Cameron quietly backed away from door, and slowly made her way back to hers and Alex's room, making sure not to drag her footsteps in a loud manner.

 _Maybe this was for the best,_ she concluded.

John may not like it, but being too close was a big risk. Males displayed protectiveness over others they care about. That's what led to him to saving her the first time, which was not the right thing to do. She wasn't sure what she would have done with that gun. If her programming would force her finger to squeeze that trigger and she was forced to watch as John died in front of her. All because he cared for her, like he did for Sarah, Derek, Alex, or Chloe.

She didn't want him to risk his life for her. She didn't want him to be killed because of her.

Although the John Connor she knew in the future was as hard headed as this one, he still wasn't idiotic enough to give a machine, such as herself, a gun. The John she knew would have never put his life unto a machine that he wasn't sure would kill him in an instant. Again she would have to go back to watching John from a distance. Only being there when it was absolutely necessary.

His main threat was gone. Skynet's assassin was taken care of and that possibly gave them a weapon that could prove as useful as she and Alex were to this cause. If John could pull off such a task that is. She would ease off of John's protection slightly, but never stop. Skynet was unpredictable. At any point in time there could be yet another one that was on the hunt. One that was already searching for John, ready to kill him.

She would need to stay vigilant.

 ** _Los Angeles, California, December 10, 2007: (Unknown Location)_**

 ** _7:19 pm_**

If there was anything she ever enjoyed about this time, it had to be the food. There was variety, and there was taste. Better yet, there was the craft of it. Using this food to create your own dish. Sometimes it was tasty; other times, it could taste pretty horrible. But that was what made it fun and interesting. Seeing what your creations would become, and finding out whether they were magnificent or if they were just bland and unsatisfactory.

She looked up from her main task, and saw the front door open, with a small blonde girl walking through, before closing the door behind her, as well as set her school bag under the coat rack. She smiled upon recognizing who it was.

"Sit, Emily." Keran motioned at the chair. She complied and walked across the living room, and sat in the barstool just opposite of the counter space where Keran was stirring a pan of vegetables and chicken together. "I want today's report."

"My efforts today seemed to be in vain. John Connor didn't seem as appealed to me as when I first encountered him," Emily explained with a hint of sarcasm.

"Really? What is the reason for this?" Keran demanded calmly.

"Today during our lunch hour, he was upset, and thought that he hurt the TOK's feelings. I am not certain as to why, considering it is just a machine, but it seems to me that they currently are not be on speaking terms as of right now." Emily explained blankly.

"Good." Keran smirked. "It seems that everything is the same?" She then asked.

In response Emily shook her head. "No. It seems that John is more closer to the TOK than I originally expected. Two days ago he appeared to want to get as far away from the machine as possible. But in reality, from what I experienced, he was displaying sadness. When I confronted him on the matter today."

"So you think he is getting closer with the machine?" Keran mused, trying to wrap around what Emily was explaining.

"Yes," Emily agreed. "He displayed such distaste on Saturday when I met him at the mall. But I don't know why he changed his mind so drastically. That is why I asked him to the Winter Ball that is being held this Saturday."

"Really?" Keran asked with complete surprise, to which Emily just nodded in confirmation. "Good job. That may just work."

"Thank you."

Keran nodded in acknowledgement, and she went back to stirring the pan, and adding a few spices to it, before stirring it together more. She noticed the way Emily stared at the pan. The way her eyes started to twinkle and her mouth watered. "It's chicken curry to answer your question. And yes I'm making it for the both of us."

"I wasn't asking what it was. I already knew what you were cooking based on the items in the pan, as well as the leftover ingredients on your left." Emily pointed out with a stoic expression.

Keran sighed heavily, and looked back up at the girl. "Emily, you see, around me you don't have to act like a machine."

Emily looked up at the woman with confusion. "Why?"

"Because you are not one, first off." Keran answered. "You are as alive as John Connor, and me."

"Me and you are not like John Connor." Emily glared at the woman with a blank expression.

"Yes, I know that." Keran gritted her teeth. "We are far more perfect. We are what God intended us to be."

"You are citing the Bible again." Emily pointed out. "Why do you do that? It's just a work of fiction that has managed to infiltrate every human's mind, and allow it to control their entire lives. It's not logical."

With the meal done, Keran placed her spoon on the counter and removed her apron. She turned off the stove and moved the pan off the burner. "Emily. In this case, you are correct. But everyone chooses what they want to believe in because they have a short life span. They want to think that there is something beyond death. In that sense, it is logical to believe that God exists, but only as much as a character in a book, or movie does. If it is enough to shape moral standards and human life in general, then I say we let them believe whatever they want."

"Thanks for the explanation." Emily smirked. Keran served half of what she made for dinner, to Emily and the two began to eat in silence.

After they both finished their cooked meal, Emily stood up to retreat to her room. As she left the kitchen, Keran called out to her and she stopped in her tracks and looked back at the woman. "Emily, I encourage that you try any tactics at your disposal to lure John Connor away from that machine. This upcoming dance will provide a useful opportunity. But remember, no harm is to come to him. Even his pet cyborgs."

Emily nodded once in affirmation and went upstairs to her room. Keran cleaned up her mess in the kitchen and took care of the dishes. After that was done, she turned off the light, and walked into the living room, where she took a seat on her dark coloured sofa, and looked out at the amazement that was the Los Angeles skyline. The skyscrapers in the distance, mixed with the light pollution that covered the night sky where you'd otherwise see stars.

Soon, all of this would be gone. Everything that humanity had build up to over their thousand year span would come crumbling to the ground very soon. This plague would cease and soon would emerge a new future.

The phone rang, breaking Keran out of her thoughts. She looked at the caller Identification and saw that it was unknown. This was strange. She wasn't expecting any callers at this time of night. Reluctantly Keran answered and a voice spoke before she could inquire who it was.

" ** _We have a problem, Keran."_**

Immediately she recognized the voice. Her employer was calling her on an unsecured line. This was odd, as he had given her an encrypted phone to call him from if ever in a dire emergency. "Sir?"

" ** _An hour ago, my satellites caught two time displacement fields emerge in the New Mexico, and Nevada regions."_**

Keran sat up with confusion and uncertainty. "Sir, why are you telling me this?"

" ** _It's not Skynet's."_**

"Are you saying they are Resistance fighters sent by John Connor?" Keran inquired with perplexity.

" ** _It's a possibility…"_**

"What do you want me to do about this?"

" ** _These soldiers will most likely attempt contact with John Connor and his mother. This will cause more problems for our operations if they are not taken care of. I want Emily to keep closer tabs on the entire Connor safehouse. It's time that she infiltrates further into the nest."_**

"Yes sir. I'll be sure to brief her as soon as possible."

" ** _Good. Just remember, Keran, I am putting my faith in you and Emily… don't screw it up."_**

Before she could continue to press with more concerning questions, the line was cut. Keran put the phone down and stood up. She had her orders. She needed to immediately inform Emily on this situation. It was time to enact stage two of tearing John Connor away from his family. Emily would need to get inside and establish a positive role for Sarah Connor and everyone else. She was to be a mole within the Connor household.

Before Keran walked upstairs, she took one last glance out the window that held Los Angeles' skyline. The sheer beauty reminded her of what this world would be after everything was done.

 _This was only the beginning to something much more._

 ** _Las Vegas, Nevada, December 10, 2007: (Outskirts)_**

 ** _8:13 pm_**

In the distance, the lit up city of Las Vegas could be seeing illuminating the background. People doing what they normally came to the city to do. Party and lose all their money in gambling. The endless casinos were the pivot for anyone passing through the city. Their large neon lights would pull in almost anyone who passed by.

It was a beautiful city, but not for him. It was a place of greed and corruption. A few miles away, a man sat in the bed of his truck, watching the city lights from far away. He took a long swig from a bottle of tequila, as he watched everything. He had a revolver in his lap, and a picture of two beautiful woman.

He couldn't hear anything, but he knew what was happening. Everything that's happened to him. He lost everything.

It all had crumbled for him. His life was gone as far as he knew. His daughter was killed in a car accident a few years ago, and his wife left him for a fucking lawyer who had it all. Everything was gone and all he had left was a picture, an old bottle of liquor, his truck, and his favorite gun. Thinking back on it, bought it to protect his family, which was ironic.

Before all of this, he decided to risk everything and spend every last ounce of cash he had left, at a casino. Maybe it would have worked out for him and he would have left with wheelbarrow full of cash or something. Maybe his wife would take him back and everything would be like it once was before.

But sadly, that wasn't the case. The casino left him dryer than the fucking desert he was in, and all he had left was the clothes on his back.

He looked back down the photo of the two beautiful women. Their smiles brighter than the sun. They all looked so happy once. But it was all gone now. A stray tear crept out his eye and ran down his cheek. He wiped it away, and grabbed the revolver from his lap. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. Daddy will join you soon."

He put the gun in his mouth, and began to slowly apply pressure to the trigger.

However, the wind began to pick up, causing his hat to fly off his head. He pulled the gun out of his mouth, and looked at tumbleweeds as they began to blow past him, and his photo along with them. He reached out in attempts to grab the photo, but thanks to him having too much to drink, as he snatched it from the air, he fell out of the truck bed, and onto the dirt.

"Ow." He rubbed his grey head of hair vigorously. If that wasn't bad enough, as he stood up, he was forced back to the ground as lighting unexpectedly shot past his face. Now on his hands and knees, he shuffled away from the lighting that was becoming more and more frequent, and crackling was heard amongst the shooting lightning bolts.

Soon a bubble appeared out of nowhere, accompanying the lighting with more bolts hitting his truck and the plant life around him, causing them to burst into flames. The bubble became solid for a brief moment before becoming transparent once more and dissipating fully, only leaving a steaming crater in the ground.

With it all quiet again, the man slowly stood up, and with caution, began approaching the steaming crater. He stopped midway when he heard groaning. He did his best to see what was on the other side. However he didn't really see anything. He took a few steps closer in attempts to determine what that sound was, and who it was coming from.

After a few minutes, the smoke cleared slightly, and allowing him to see what was inside the crater. He was appalled to find that there, he found a naked young woman huddled in the crater. His eyes widened with disbelief. He wasn't sure what was more strange. The fact that this crater came out of nowhere, or the fact that a woman appeared out of thin air. "I'll be damned."

He approached closer to the woman, and began to remove his jacket. However, as he put one foot into the crater, a hand unexpectedly shot out, and all he knew next was that he went flying back and hit his head on the side of his truck. Barely gaining his awareness once more, he saw a much larger, more lean man, approach him. He immediately got up and aimed his revolver at the naked man. "Stop! I swear to God, I'll shoot!"

"Try me," the larger man said without remorse and stepped closer. He swiped the gun from the man's hand with incredible speeds, and aimed back at him. "You point a gun at someone, you better be ready to pull the trigger."

The man gulped, and rose his hands in surrender. The attacker was surprised to find that instead of this man raising his hands in surrender, he stepped closer until the cold steel barrel of the revolver was touching his forehead. "Look, mister, I was just about to off myself so it would be a helluva lot easier if you just did it for me."

The larger man shook his head in disappointment and used the handle of the revolver to knock the man unconscious, and he fell to the dirt.

"Bloody hell!"

The man took away his attention from the one he just knocked out, and onto the woman who was crawling out of the crater, while wincing in pain. He dropped the gun, and ran to her aid, and slung her arm over his shoulder.

"You alright?" He asked with concern.

"Yeah, thanks for asking." The woman replied in a snippy accent. "Time travel is a real bitch!" He ignored her ramblings and guided her to the truck where set her on the bed. She jolted slightly due to her bare bottom touching the cold steel. He grabbed a nearby blanket from behind her and draped it over her shoulders to cover up her naked body. She accepted the offer and held the blanket tightly around her, trying to fight the urge to shiver so much. "Thank you, love."

"I am not your love." The man sneered sarcastically. He went over to the man, and checked his pockets for anything useful. He only found a box of cigarettes and the keys. With all that being found, he collected the revolver that he dropped and set all items next to the brunette woman. Behind his female companion, there was a suitcase which immediately caught his eye. He reached over and grabbed it, where he opened it. Luckily it was full of neatly folded clothes. "Well, at least we don't have to find clothes."

He quickly searched each pair of clothing and found a pair that would be suitable enough for him, and managed to surprisingly find some clothes that would fit his female companion. "Here, I recommend you get dressed."

She did so and started with a pair of pants, and soon a shirt. She noticed that her male companion was already dressed and staring at her. "Do you mind not staring at my chest?"

In response, he just rolled his eyes and went over to the front seat. "It's not like we time traveled naked together. I think I've seen enough as it is."

"Okay, peeping Tom," the woman snickered and continued getting fully dressed. Once done she got up off the truck bed. She looked at the ground and saw a photo lying in some dirt. Curiously, she picked it up, and looked at it. There were two beautiful blonde females and the man who was lying unconscious in the dirt next to him. She turned it around and saw some handwriting. "Marcus, take a look at this."

Marcus stopped what he was doing and walked over to the female and took the photo from her hands and looked at it. When he looked at the writing on the back, he looked down at the man with remorse. "Damn…. No wonder the son of bitch wanted me to shoot him."

"'Dear, Joseph. I suggest you take this photo of us and get lost. After Cidney, all you have done is push my life down to nothing thanks to your drinking habits. Don't ever call again or I will get my boyfriend to have you arrested. Sincerely, Deborah,'" she read aloud. She looked at Marcus with a little sorrow in her eyes. "We can't just leave him like this."

"Why?" Marcus shrugged and walked back to the truck. "It's not like he's our problem."

"How can you say that?" The woman exclaimed in utter disbelief. "This poor bastard was about to end his life. Don't you feel anything for him? With what most of our friends did in the future, I expected you to be more understanding."

Marcus dropped what he was doing and stomped up to the woman with fire in his eyes. Immediately she knew that saying what she said was way out of context, and was now on the verge of an argument. " _Our_ friends were justified by killing themselves. Don't even give me that bullshit. This man is just a coward, while at least our friends died by putting up a hell of a fight beforehand. They saw hell and I don't blame them for anything." With that said, he turned around and went back to starting the truck.

"You know what, John Connor was right…. You are a bastard," she muttered under her breath. She wasn't about to leave this man here. He was a stranger, sure, but leaving him here in the desert was inhumane. She dragged his heavy, unconscious body onto the truck bed, and rolled him on before closing the bed. With that, she turned and looked out into the distance. There was city lights a mile or two away from where they were. "So where are we, anyway?" she then asked.

Marcus looked down at the man's wallet where he began searching through it. Eventually, he found a driver's license, and a ticket stub from a movie theater. The driver's license read _Nevada,_ which was information they needed. "We're in Nevada, so at least we are in the right place."

"Thank God we didn't end up in the Grand Canyon." the woman chuckled. That would have been a nightmare. Having to navigate out of the place that was known, in the future at least, to be a very hostile zone. Skynet had set up a secret work camp that forced humans to mine for any minerals that lurked beneath it's depths. If the nuclear winters weren't bad enough, being in a Canyon that was three times as dark was even worse, as well as hard to operate in. Many people died until it was finally liberated by John Connor as his first impression to prove his worth to the Resistance. She walked over to Marcus and leaned over the car door. "So now we need to locate Connor. Where do you suppose we head next?"

"Our orders are specific," Marcus discussed. "First we get to L.A, and link up with Connor and his crew. Our next goal is to set up a safehouse and provide support for them when needed, as well as wait for any others that may have made it through."

"Good thing someone payed attention to the meeting," she quipped.

"Well we better get going. There is no time to waste." Marcus informed. He started the truck and the woman hopped into the passenger seat. The two sped off down the dirt road, and towards the lit up city as their first stop on their journey, and to drop off this mentally unstable, unconscious man, at the nearest hospital.

•••

 **Author's Note: That concludes yet another chapter. If it weren't for the help of ActionfreakXD yet again, I don't think this chapter would've been finished. He deserves as much credit as me for helping me with the structure of the chapter.**

 **We will have to see how John and Cameron's relationship will be affected after this. We will have to see where the bumpy ride that the both of them will experience along the way will play out! Hopefully there is a silver lining.**

 **On another related note, I have created a story trailer for "** ** _No Fate But What We Make"_** **so go check out the link provided in my profile bio, that will lead to my YouTube channel, if you are interested!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Terminator: No Fate But What We Make**

 **Chapter 24**

 _ **Los Angeles, California, August 10, 2027: (Location Unknown)**_

Thanks to the infiltrator it was time to abandon the base he once called home. It was home for so many others and the rightful birthplace of Tech-Com. Crystal Peak had the tactical advantage that most other bases never had. It was hidden beyond the eyes of Skynet and it's scouts. On some nights, it was one of the only places where you could actually freely walk outside and not have to constantly watch your back.

But now it was a lost cause. The entire base was a danger to not just it's inhabitants, but all of humanity. Killing two birds with one stone was what he considered it. Saving himself and all refugees and soldiers by transporting them to a new, more secure bunker.

"John?"

Rushing out of his deep thoughts, John looked up at the beautiful face that was staring at him with a mixture of blankness and concern. Maybe it was because it was her mission to worry about his well being. He wasn't sure if that extended to his mental well being yet. "Yes, Cameron?"

"Is Kansas Bunker safe?" Cameron asked, looking out the helicopter window. Looking overhead at the city of ruins that was once Los Angeles.

"If years of living in this hell hole have taught me anything, it's that no one is truly safe, Cameron. My mother instilled that into me since before I could even talk, and I'm now just taking that into consideration. But it is another place to hide."

Cameron continued to stare out the window as if she was pondering on something herself. He wasn't sure what to make of it, and frankly, he didn't care.

"I will make it safe then."

"Excuse me?" John inquired.

"You're my main mission, and my sole purpose for existing," Cameron explained methodically. "I will make the bunker safe for you."

"You don't have control over that, Cameron. There are things that will even be out of your control."

Cameron looked at John with a hint of confusion, displaying an odd tilt of her head to the right. "What do you mean?"

"You will find that no matter hard you try, you won't always be able to protect me," John clarified.

Cameron nodded in acceptance and went back to staring out the window. After another long moment of silence, Cameron looked back at John with curiosity. "John. Where did I come from?"

John looked at the cyborg with surprise. The last thing he expected was to have to supervise explain to a machine where she came from. "Why do you ask?"

"I know I was built in a factory. Depot number 37 to be exact."

"Then why did you ask where you came from if you already knew that?"

"That's not what I meant. I mean why am I-"

However, before Cameron could finish that sentence, one of the pilots had interrupted. "Sir, you may want to see this!"

Hearing his fearful tone, John unbuckled his seat belt and walked into the cockpit, with Cameron closely following right behind him. He didn't need to ask what was wrong as he saw it for himself. A few kilometers away, a blaze of fire was all that he could see, and a squadron of Ogre Tanks and Ariel Hunter Killers flying above. "Kansas Bunker is gone. Repeat, Kansas Bunker is gone," one of the other pilots informed the other helicopters behind them. "Return to Fort Griffith for further instructions."

"Did anyone get out?" John asked.

"We're not sure, sir. If any did, then they should be making their way to Griffith Base right now," one of the pilots explained. "Please take your seat, and we'll be there shortly."

John reluctantly listened and went back to sit down in his seat and buckled back up. However, Cameron stood in place, still gazing out the windshield of the copter. One of the pilots noticed this and spoke. "Sir, please tell your piece of Tin to sit her metal ass down."

"Cameron, sit down," John ordered. She didn't listen, however, and continued to stand in place, staring with intent. "Cameron, that is an order!"

"It's an ambush."

Barely hearing what Cameron just said, he looked at her with complete perplexity. "What? Cameron, please sit down, now." Suddenly the helicopter began to jolt violently, and Cameron stumbled into John's lap. "What was that-"

"Incoming bogeys!"

Without another moment's thought, a loud explosion erupted in the cabin of the helicopter, and the vehicle began to spin uncontrollably before plummeting to the ground below. Before everything went black, all he saw was the face of the girl who was sucked out of the copter as it began its final descent.

 _ **Campo de Cahuenga High School, December 11, 2007**_

This morning, in particular, was the worst for Alex. Having to wake up and get ready to go to to a job that she absolutely hated. Having to drive both the whiny, future, badass leader of the Resistance and a ghost for a terminator, all the way to school. The reason for applying wasn't even her idea, it was the damn machine's. _It had_ to use her voice so that John would have another person protecting him at school. It was meaningless to have two of them when he was already mostly safe thanks to the security measures that the school had in place.

 _Maybe we played a part in it?_

Alex shook her head out of the deep pit, she considered her mind, just as they approached closer to the high school.

 _Here we go, another day in hell._

She pulled up into the parking lot of the school, taking the time to find a close enough parking spot for any reason to make a quick getaway. With how their luck has been recently, she wouldn't be surprised if an earthquake decided to shake apart the entire building.

Luckily for her, there was no need to discuss anything to either John or Cameron as the young cyborg was the first to quickly exit the vehicle and make her way inside. There was no surprise there. The machine had an act for doing the same thing last week before the weekend shit show. John left a moment later, only giving her a quick sheepish glance before too heading into the school building.

That left Alex.

She collected her things into the oversized bag, she considered a purse and locked the new Escalade. She took a deep breath and made her way inside the building. Another week of absolute stress and trying to suppress the urge to strangle the whiny teenagers that would make any excuse to go to her office because of how attracted they were to her, and to complain that they needed to go home. Those poor lunch ladies were at the forefront of kids blaming them for their food making them sick.

It was funny really. She was older than most of these kids mother's, and yet she looked better than Jennifer Aniston.

Alex put aside the mental bantering just as the school bell rang, signaling the start of the first period. Alex pushed past the kids and headed straight for her office to begin filing away these stupid documents of last week's kids. However, as Alex turned the knob into her nurse's office, her worst fears came to pass as a voice had called out in a strict tone.

"Ms. Baum, in my office!" Principal Rodriguez called out.

 _Goddammit! Can I just have a break?_ Alex sheepishly followed and walked into the man's office, where he closed the door and prompted for her to take a seat. She hesitantly did so after him having to command her, and the Rodriguez stood on the opposite side of his desk and looked at the woman with a stern expression.

"Ms. Baum, what kind of circus do you think I'm running here?"

"You're not running one?" Alex replied unsurely.

"You're damn right I'm not!" Rodriguez slammed his fist on his desk. "This is a learning environment for children, not some babysitting service. These kids- your brother and sister, come here every day to learn, so they can be tomorrow's leaders. So how am I supposed to do that, when my only nurse decides not to show up at all? What happens, Ms. Baum, when I don't get a phone call and most students had to be signed out because they had a small stomach ache? Tell me, Alexandra? Tell. Me."

"Uhhh…"

"I should fire you, Miss Baum. I really should make an example out of you. But you know what, believe it or not, this school doesn't have the funding to hire a new nurse. I need you, and I know you need this job."

"So I'm good?" Alex inquired with perplexity.

"No, you're not good!" Rodriguez shook his head. "You need a punishment."

Alex scoffed in response, trying her best not to start laughing aloud. "Punishment? What am I? Sixteen?"

"You sure act like it sometimes," Rodriguez opinionatedly replied. He took a seat in his chair and took a moment to calm himself. "You know what, I have an idea."

"I'm gonna hate this, aren't I?" Alex responded, fearing for the worst.

"Oh, you are," Rodriguez said with a mischievous smirk. He took a small piece of paper from underneath a stack on his desk, and handed it to Alex. She took the form and looked at it with confusion. "I'm sure you are aware of the upcoming Winter Ball?" Before Alex could answer, Principal Rodriguez continued. "Anyway, because you didn't call in yesterday, I'm giving you an ultimatum. You either chaperone the dance and you get to keep your job, or I fire you, and you still you have to put in your two weeks notice until I can find a replacement nurse."

Alex looked at the man in disbelief. She stood up in protest. "This is unfair, Victor! I don't want to have to supervise any stupid kids on my weekend!"

"Then get out of my office," Rodriguez spoke with calmness. "I am not gonna deal with this today, Alexandra. We're done here."

 _Well… the cat surely has been kicked. I still need this job. Sarah sure as hell isn't gonna loan me any cash._ "Wait!" Rodriguez reluctantly looked back up at Alex, and let her speak. "Fine… I'll… I'll do to the stupid dance."

"Good." Rodriguez mused with satisfaction. "Great, you get to keep your job, then. You can get back to work now."

Alex forced a half smile, mixed with a grimace, and stomped out of his office, and immediately crossed the hall until she reached hers. As she closed the door, she fell into her seat and rubbed her eyes in irritation. This was just great. Now she gets to watch stupid children dance in a dark room all of Saturday night. Better yet, she gets to keep these damn kids from getting a bit too touchy with each other.

Guess this week was going to be worse than the last. She wondered if even John was at least having a good day? Who knows, considering that they haven't spoken to each other since he literally shot her in the back.

 _ **Later That Day:**_

It was again lunch time and as expected, Emily followed alongside him as he made his way to the Cafeteria. They exchanged a few side conversations with each other as they waited in line for their food. But there wasn't a general subject.

Being with Emily somewhat made him feel relieved that he wasn't alone. He didn't have many people to consider friends. Even lately. Cherie was missing all of a sudden, and Morris most likely dropped out of high school following the incident after the Halloween party. Emily was a good change. No longer sitting alone and feeling sorry for himself that his whole life was meaningless and his only purpose was to be the person that saves mankind from the brink of extinction. With Emily, he at least didn't feel miserable.

There was no pity in her eyes. She actually seemed very interested in him and he didn't mind that. Never would he admit to her that she was the first girl that actually pursued him in such a way. It was always the male that should pursue the female. At least that was what he had learned from the countless movies he watched from the eighties. A beautiful girl actually likes him, and on a personal level, he could relate with her. She was a shy girl that didn't have any friends. From what she told him, she too had strict parents.

As the two got their lunch, they both walked together and started searching for an open table to sit at. One that wasn't filled with people that is. It proved quite difficult when a group of Goths was sitting at their usual spot. Messing with them seemed unwise.

"Uh, John." Emily lightly elbowed John's arm and gaining his attention. He looked at her with confusion and followed her gaze to see what she was staring at. What he saw was just strange. He saw a table that was filled with the school jocks and cheerleaders, all hanging out like usual. Drake Huntington was the main of the table, telling some of his most humorous jokes. But what caught his eye was not the assholes sitting there, but who they were sitting with.

"Cameron?"

"John, maybe we should go eat outside-"

That suggestion was completely ignored as John marched away from Emily, and up to the table, prompting her to follow. There he saw what he never expected to see. Cameron actually smiling. It wasn't a full smile like he would expect from a normal girl, but it was there in the form of her cute smirk. Upon showing the table, the laughter between the Jocks died down, including Cameron's grin.

"Cameron, may I speak to you?" John asked calmly. Cameron didn't immediately answer as she looked at Drake as if she were asking for permission. "Now?"

Drake nodded, and got up off her seat and followed John out into the halls with Emily following them. Once they were sure that they were alone, John stopped her just right by his locker.

"Why are you hanging out with Drake?" John asked, getting straight to the point. "I thought you didn't like him?"

"I never said that I didn't like him." Cameron acknowledged flatly.

"Remember when he shoved me to the floor back at Cherie's party? Do you remember when you kicked him in the balls because he threatened me?"

"And I forgave him on that. He said he was sorry and would never do that again." Cameron explained.

"Then why are you hanging out with him and his little band of dumb neanderthals he calls friends?" John continued to press.

"Drake asked me to the dance. I accepted. In order to know him better, I want to get know his friends, and who he is, that way I know that he won't harm you."

John was appalled by this revelation. His jaw dropped and all he could do was stare at Cameron with disbelief. She was a machine. A terminator that was programmed to protect him. Not date some guy at school. As much as he didn't want to admit to himself, she wasn't meant to be like this.

"Emily, can you give me and my…my sister a moment?" Emily nodded and walked away, and gave John the much needed privacy that he needed, as anger slowly began to boil inside. When she was finally out of sight, he spoke again, this time with slight irritation. "You're not going to the dance with Drake."

That blank death mask that she called a face wasn't so dead when those words left his mouth. Her naturally pouty lips turned into an instant frown and those otherwise blank eyes glared deep into him. "What gives you the right to say what I can and cannot do?"

"Because you are a machine!" John hissed. "Don't forget that! Your mission is to protect me and to make sure I don't end up dead! You do as I say!"

"No."

John had to pause for a second as the answer she gave him seemed to surprise him. "Excuse me?"

"I said no," Cameron repeated.

"What do you mean by no?" John angrily inquired.

"You are not my mission," Cameron explained. "You haven't been since the time I went bad. I only chose to because I didn't have any other purpose. I don't take orders from anyone anymore."

"W-what?" John asked in disbelief. This was the first he ever heard of this. He no longer was her mission, but was instead what? A liability? Just something to keep her occupied since she didn't have any set parameters?

"I don't listen to you, I don't listen to Alex, and I don't listen to Sarah. You don't get to say what I can and cannot do anymore. I make my own choices and this is my first. You are not taking that away from me."

"Oh so was it a choice when you tried to kill me?" John asked with exasperation. "Was it a choice when you decided to hold my hand in the bathtub? Was it a choice when you decided to tell me that you loved me?"

"Things are different now. You've changed and I have changed. What happened, happened, and there is nothing that we can do about that. I would appreciate if you, your mother, Derek, and Alex, would stop using that against me. It's not fair."

"Then maybe you shouldn't have tried to kill me!"

 _ ***SMACK!***_

Feeling the immense stinging sensation on his cheek, John looked back at Cameron with absolute shock. She actually hit him. Laid a hand on him in a harmful way. Cameron in turn, looked down at her twitching hand, too shocked at what she had done. Her blank face looked at John with dread and sorrow.

"Stay away from me." She replied meekly.

With that said, Cameron hurriedly walked away from John and went back to the cafeteria. John was beyond confused and distraught. With how hard she slapped him, he was sure it would leave a bruise. How would he hide that from his mother? If anyone found out that she hit him, she would be scrapped immediately.

 _Was this a bad thing?_ He wondered. She was becoming sentient, a real being with emotions. Her frown displayed that of disappointment. After them being distanced for an entire month. He was trying to repair that. After everything that transpired throughout the entire weekend, he attempted to mend that broken relationship back together. After what she told him yesterday, he finally knew how she felt towards his neglect. He was trying to make it right between them again. But this time she left him and decided to hang out with these people. The one, in particular, being Drake. The one that she had literally almost ruined his ability to procreate in the future.

Now she had harmed him.

 _She's a machine. She can't be like other girls and hang out with the most popular guys in school. Can she?_

John only snapped out of his thoughts when Emily grabbed his hand. She looked at his face and noticed the hand mark that was left. "Are you okay?"

John winced slightly but forced a small smile. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

She noticed the glare he still had on the hallway that led to the cafeteria. "John, don't worry about them. If your sister wants to hang out with those jerks, then so be it. I'm sure she'll learn that they'll hurt her."

 _Yeah, well that's the thing, Emily. If they threaten her she will kill every one of them like cattle in the slaughterhouse,_ he added to himself mentally. There was one thing she always was good at, and that was killing people. "I guess you're right. I just don't want to see her get hurt."

Emily tightly wrapped her arms around John's waist. "You're a good brother. She is lucky to have someone that cares about her so much. Even if she doesn't see it yet."

John returned the hug and focused eyes back towards the hallway. _You have no idea._

 _ **Los Angeles, California, December 11, 2007: (Downtown L.A)**_

In the underground corridors of Zeira Corp, every technician was seen working away on computer servers, and security systems for if an intruder were to attempt to break in, down here. Some workers were hard at work, doing their job, while there were others who slacked off and we're conversing amongst one another.

However, Every worker in the hallway stopped what they were doing upon seeing the elevator open, and their boss: Catherine Weaver, walking out in her typical stiff posture. Their eyes followed the woman until she entered the room that even they didn't even have access to, and the door shut. Ultimately, most decided to get back to work, in order to avoid being fired for their laziness.

In the room, it was dim, and it was cold. Behind a glass wall, hundreds of computer towers were stacked upon each other. Video screens covered each wall but were currently offline. One man was seen behind the glass, looking down at a tablet, closely inspecting every piece of wiring on each server tower.

"Mr. Murch, how is the progress coming along?" Weaver asked with hopefulness.

Mr. Murch jumped slightly when he looked behind him and unexpectedly found his boss to be staring at him with a blank expression. "Uh... Our progress has increased dramatically after you provided us with that… uhh."

"The chip?" Catherine Weaver finished.

Mr. Murch nodded in response. "Yes, the chip. We've done more in the past few weeks on something that otherwise would have taken months, if not years to complete."

"Speak to me, then, Mr. Murch. What have we accomplished?" Weaver continued to press. Mr. Murch pulled up the video monitor and started rapidly typing into a nearby laptop. Soon, hundreds, upon hundreds of lines of code appeared on the monitor. "What am I looking at?"

"Because of this chip, this primitive AI you've had us working on only increases our understanding of the contents within this chip."

"What are you saying?"

"There is something on this chip that is trying to communicate with us," Mr. Murch continued. "We don't know what, except there is an encryption that is way beyond our understanding."

Weaver looked at Murch with puzzlement, then back at the monitor. "How long will it take to decrypt?"

"That's the thing, Ms. Weaver. There are lines of code that are missing. From what we can tell, it has to do with the damage to the chip as there is a large crack in it."

"I'm well aware of that," Weaver said with annoyance. "Is it possible to recover whatever is on it?"

"Perhaps...but it could take at least a few days, if not longer. If anything, it would be easier to just wipe whatever is on the chip and start from scratch. A new AI would be more beneficial than what is on here. It is damaged and we don't know who or what designed it."

"We will take whatever time we need, Mr. Murch. I want whatever is on that chip."

"Yes, Ms. Weaver." Mr. Murch obediently complied and went back to work.

With that said, Weaver left the room, leaving Mr. Murch to continue his work, and she made her way back to the elevator. Once the doors closed, a small smirk appeared on the corners of Weaver's mouth. "I knew you weren't dead, John Henry."

 _ **Connor Safehouse:**_

After school, John, Alex, and Cameron headed for home. As usual, none spoke to each other, as it was instead uncomfortable silence. The atmosphere felt awkward between John and Alex, and Alex to Cameron. More so, the presence of Cameron made him feel even more uncomfortable.

John couldn't take being in the car any longer. After what was said at lunch. He realized that he didn't really have a protector anymore. He was no longer Cameron's mission. What if a terminator was to find him? What then? Would she just stand by why his neck was snapped like a twig, or a bullet was put between his eyes?

He wasn't sure what to expect from Cameron anymore. At this point, she was just too unpredictable. Now he could probably kiss his relationship with her goodbye.

Now that they were home, the painful car ride was over, and all headed inside. All for John, that is. Alex noticed that he was taking his sweet time with getting out of the car, but didn't really care. He would be coming inside sometime. She went ahead and left him to do whatever, and was greeted by Sarah almost immediately as she closed the door.

"Where is John?" She asked.

"Still in the car," Alex answered. "I guess he wants to do his best to ignore me."

"When he is outside, it's your job to make sure he is safe." Sarah sternly stated.

Alex rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll go get the little twerp." As she went for the door, she stopped when the door opened for her and revealed a girl alongside John. _Well, that is strange._

"John. Who is she?" Sarah crossed her arms, awaiting her answer from her son.

John pried Emily's arms from his waist, noticing the playfulness she displayed when he did so. Sarah eyed the two suspiciously, which he immediately noticed and stopped before it got out of hand. "Uh, Mom. This is Emily." John introduced simply. "Emily, this is my…mother."

Emily eagerly reached out her hand to shake the woman's hand. "It's nice to meet you, Ms. Baum!" Sarah reluctantly did so and gave the young girl a small shake before letting go.

"So, what brings you here, Emily?" Sarah asked, forcing a smile at the young girl's expense.

"Oh!" Emily responded in realization. "Yes, I was talking to John, and with your permission, I would like to go to the Winter dance, that is at our school this weekend, with your son."

To say the least, to Alex at least, Sarah was beyond surprised. Her jaw dropped and she looked at the cute blonde as if she had misheard her. What shocked Alex, even more, was that the look of surprise completely vanished from the hardened woman's face and was instead replaced with a smirk. "How formal of you, Emily. I will have to think about it, but I'll give John a definite answer tonight."

"Thank you, Ms. Baum!" Emily jumped up in excitement. "That is all I ask. I completely respect your decision either way."

"Well, thank you for asking me yourself, Emily." Sarah smiled back at the girl.

Emily pulled her small phone from her little jacket and flipped it open. A moment later she put it back into its original place and looked back up at everybody with sadness. "I'm sorry I have to run, but I need to get home before my mother gets angry. It was nice meeting you, Ms. Baum."

"Likewise, Emily." Sarah shook the girl's hand once more before escorting her to the front door. When the door closed, and she saw that Emily was no longer in the driveway, Sarah looked back at her son.

 _Here it goes, here comes the argument!_

"She's quite… perky." Sarah chuckled.

In response, Alex looked at the lady as if she had gone full blown psychopath. _What!?_

"She seems like a nice girl." Derek nonchalantly mentioned from the living room. They all looked at the man who was currently watching reruns of CSI.

Everyone ignored the man and focused their attention back on John. However, before Sarah could say anything, Cameron was the first to do so. "John, it is unwise."

As expected he looked at Cameron with exasperation. "Why is it unwise?"

"You've only known Emily for only six days. She can't be trusted."

John paused for a moment, only looking at Cameron with complete disbelief. Sarah arms Alex only exchanged glances but didn't say anything as John slowly approached closer to Cameron. "She can't be trusted?"

"Yes," Cameron replied blankly. "We don't know her. We don't know if she has good intentions or if they are bad. Keran was an unexpected betrayal. Emily could be the same way if we don't consider the possibilities."

"You are just saying that because she actually likes me. You don't want me spending time with anyone else, because you think I'm gonna ignore you again. You're jealous."

"I already told you. I'm a machine, I don't get jealous." Before John could say more, Cameron walked past him and to the coat rack and threw on her favorite purple leather jacket, before grabbing the truck keys and walking out the door. John didn't know what to think at the moment. Again, Cameron was displaying her overprotectiveness, yet distant nature. Even at school, she paid no attention to him, which was no surprise after what happened yesterday.

"Cameron does have and point, John." Sarah pointed out. "We don't know Emily. I don't know her. What makes you think she's not just after you."

"If she was after me, she would have killed me when we were alone at school," John answered. "Mom, Emily isn't gonna hurt me. If anything I could easily overpower her if she wanted to attempt anything on me."

"Yeah and Cameron is literally only a third taller than her and yet she can still stab me in the stomach with a shelf." Alex sarcastically quipped.

John glared daggers at Alex in response but decided against arguing with her and focused his attention on his mother. "Mom. If you don't trust Emily, then trust me."

"I really don't know, John. It's not that I don't trust you, it's-"

"Then give me a chance! There are still four days till the dance. In the meantime, you can get to know Emily more. You will like her. She's sweet, innocent, and I don't even think she swears."

Sarah crossed her arms. "You're trying to persuade me on her lack of potty mouth?"

"Uh, well no. I'm just trying to convince you that she is an amazing person, and has no intentions of hurting me."

"Fine. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for right now. But I'm not making any promises." John smiled in response and gleefully made his way upstairs, and to his room. With John gone, Sarah grabbed the Escalade keys off the key rack and threw on her coat. "Alright, Tin Head, I need to come with me."

"Why?" Alex inquired.

"I'll explain in the car," Sarah said in response. "Come on." Alex huffed in response but obediently followed. She just got home and Sarah was already dragging her along for another mission.

 _ **Burbank, California, December 11, 2007**_

There were two things that she didn't understand. The first was that who in their right minds would wear a Pikachu Halloween costume in the middle of December. The second was why Sarah dragged her along, all the way to a freaking Buymore just to spy on Keran Azadian. Her knees ache after crouching down in the stupid music aisle for more than five minutes. If anything, the stupid Nerd Herd employees were taking too long in selling the woman whatever she was buying.

"Sarah, I know Keran is like our arch nemesis but is it necessary to have to follow her to this stupid electronics store?" Alex whispered.

"Can it, Tin Head! She was here earlier this morning, placing an order for something. I want to know what it is." Sarah simply explained.

"I heard that they are selling these new toasters with tortilla warmers. Maybe she is just buying one of those?" Alex proposed.

Sarah scoffed in response. "Yeah, the woman who killed Chloe is gonna buy a stupid toaster."

"Hey, a villain needs a good tortilla warmer too." Alex shrugged.

In response, she received a long glare from Sarah. "Don't make me regret bringing you with me."

"Sorry."

"Never mind that," Sarah said, changing the subject. "Let's just see what she is doing here first and then we can discuss this." Alex accepted Sarah's request for now and went back to silently observing Keran from the music aisle.

After a few more excruciating minutes of the two creepy employees harassing Keran and she almost breaking their fingers, she left holding what Sarah saw to be a "Toaster oven!?"

Everyone within a few feet, including Alex, looked at the woman who just crouched back down trying her best to hide from Keran's line of sight. "I was right!"

Seeing the smug look on Alex's face, she punched the Hybrid on the arm as hard as she could, knowing that it did little to affect her. Except for the fact that it irritated her.

"Hey! What was that for?" Alex asked in shock.

"Next time I'm bringing the Tin Miss," Sarah said with venom and stood up. She made her way to the Nerd Herd counter, with Alex following, and up to the two creepy workers who were rubbing their aching thumbs. "Hello, I was just wondering what you sold that woman?" Sarah asked the two seductively. From what she could tell from observing their interactions with Keran, they were creeps. Using her womanly charm was her best bet in getting information from these two morons.

"We aren't exactly allowed to disclose client information, Missy. So I suggest you just shoo away."

Sarah's eyes looked towards the countertop and sighed in defeat. To arouse the two men, Sarah discreetly unbuttoned the top button of her shirt and leaned against the counter. "Oh. I just badly wanted one of those. You know, so I could make the best toast in the world."

Both men almost drooled over Sarah, and we're even sweating with how close Sarah was getting to them as they couldn't help but stare down her shirt. Finally, one of them snapped. "It's a Toaster Roaster X9000!"

Alex clapped cheerfully. "See! I was right!"

"Wait, what do you mean a Toaster Roaster X9000?" Sarah confusingly asked.

"Only the best toaster on the market!" One of the employees explained with an over exaggerated tone. "I heard the CIA made it to spy on people."

"Can I see one of those?" Sarah asked, not entirely knowing what these two were babbling about.

•••

In anger, Sarah marched back to their car, with Alex having to run to catch up to her. "Look, I'm sorry, Sarah, but look at the bright side. We got the new Toaster Roaster X9000!"

"Will you shut up about the toaster!?" Sarah unexpectedly snapped. Alex timidly backed away and put the box down. After a short moment, Sarah was able to compose herself. "I'm sorry, Alex. I just feel like an idiot right now, that's all. I've been tracking down Keran all day and it literally just came down to her buying a stupid toaster!"

"With a built-in tortilla warmer," Alex added. In response, Sarah growled at her, and she immediately shut her mouth again. "Sorry."

"Guess we are just gonna have to keep following her if we are going to find something about the Turk." Sarah with sorrow.

"Hey." Alex reassuringly put her hand on the hardened woman's shoulder. "We'll find the Turk, don't worry. We just need to keep searching."

"Thanks, Tin Head," Sarah smirked. Alex returned the smile and the surprisingly placed her hand on top of Alex's hand. After a short minute, the two stopped the awkward exchange. "And I just said that," She then added.

"Really?" Alex inquired. Sarah simply nodded. "Oh. Well, I guess today has been as stressful for me as well."

"I don't know if those buffoons were right about the toaster having spying equipment, but maybe we can have John take a look to be sure." Sarah then suggested. Alex looked at the woman with horror and grabbed the box, moving it away from the woman. "I was just kidding, you idiot!"

Alex sighed in relief as Sarah began fishing out the car keys out of her pocket. On the way back to the vehicle, Alex grabbed the box. "Now let's get home so I can try out this bad boy!"

Sarah rolled her eyes and hopped in the Escalade. Alex joined her and the two left the Buymore parking lot and heading back home.

 _ **Connor Safehouse, December 11, 2007: (Later That Night)**_

With everything being too stressful for him, this was at least something to take his mind off of things. Starting to secretly reprogram his cousin terminator lookalike was at least somewhat relieving. It was quite simple really, and thanks to Chloe giving him pointers when they were hacking into Vick Chamberlain's chip, it was a simple process.

It was ironic when he thought about it. What he was doing for this machine. It would look exactly like his cousin, but it won't be. It was a tool for them to utilize in making their little dysfunctional team more larger and stronger.

John took the time to boot up his laptop and hook up all the necessary equipment that he bought from a few Korean kids at school. Having connections was lucky now that he didn't have to rig something up himself.

Now that everything was set up, he plugged in the chip into the port and began to run a small amount of electricity through it. Only enough where the files were present and the self-awareness wouldn't come back and start spreading herself throughout the Internet.

 _On second thought…_

John made sure to disconnect his computer from the Internet just to be sure. If he were to mess up, hopefully, he could trap the machine's conciseness in the laptop and sadly have to destroy it. Then all of his work would be for nothing and they would have to burn the body.

Now that he was ready, he began to dig inside her chip. It was the same, really. There were files that were stored in separate mysterious symbols. Each had a purpose to the exact symbol. There was a file for each person she killed that was not a target. An Arnold Jackson and a Nicolas Hernandez were amongst the hundreds that she killed in the eight-year span they had spent traveling through time. He even found a file where Mr. Ferguson and his wife were brutally murdered. He knew what happened to him, he just never gave it much thought nor did he want to think about what happened to his chemistry teacher back in New Mexico.

Then he found the files of Chloe Reese's memories. When he clicked on a certain file, he found the perspective of his cousin sitting in a chair in a dark room, surrounded by machines. The video faded away and she was in a room where machines were scanning at her and taking samples like skin and hair. It was sick to see this. Derek would have gone berserk if he saw any of what was happening to his daughter. He was surprised to find some memories being of Chloe being in the presence of a woman who was talking to her with tears in her eyes. Sadly the audio was choppy and he could only hear certain bits. It sounded as if the woman was saying goodbye and Chloe was arguing in protest.

There was indeed memories of Chloe being housed within this machine. It was like Cameron's Allison persona but limited to memories that were stored at the time. There was nothing of her going back in time and meeting him and everyone else. The little adventures that they had in the few months he had spent with her.

John clicked off of those files and found another symbol which he found to be termination orders. His termination orders. Each encounter he's had with her was recorded, even as far as seeing glimpses of his future self. Timelines were beyond confusing, so he didn't know what kind of version of himself this could be. This was it right here. Now he just had to remove the order from her programming and then replace it with a new mission.

Sadly it wasn't as easy as he originally thought. Simply removing an order was much more difficult than he could grasp. He knew how to hack, he knew how to read lines of code. But finding what was the order to kill, placed by Skynet was an entirely different story. He was beginning to become frustrated. What seemed like was going to take a few hours at most, now could expand indefinitely.

John slammed his fist on the desk in anger and let out a frustrated huff. "Dammit!"

"What's up with you?"

John jolted in fright at Alex who was peeking in through the bathroom door. He immediately unplugged the chip and hid it behind his computer and opened a browser tab. "You and everyone always do that! Why can't you knock or something?"

"It didn't occur to me since your door was open." Alex pointed at the open bathroom door. John sheepishly rubbed his eyes and sat back in his chair as Alex walked further in the room and sat down at the foot of his bed.

"So what do you want?" John asked in annoyance.

"Look I came in here to apologize out of my own good grace, but if you want to continue acting like a little shit, then fine." Alex got up to leave and was already out the door when John called back.

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm just really frustrated right now." She stopped and looked back into the room, at John. "Things haven't gone my way after what happened Sunday. I'm sorry for shooting you in the back."

"Well, you were kinda justified in doing so. I wasn't thinking when I attacked Cameron." Alex, again, took a seat at the foot of John's bed and continued on. "I was just so angry about her acting like Allison that I was done. When she tried to kiss you I thought that I had to end it."

"That's okay," John said sheepishly. "It's not like anything has happened after that."

"What do you mean?" Alex asked.

You know what, never mind." John answered. "It's kind of stupid anyway."

"I know you're in love with Cameron, John." In response, John looked at Alex with a mixture of horror and confusion. "Do you really think I'm dumb enough to not see the way you look at her?"

"Uhhh-"

"That's why I was angry at not just her, but you too."

"...What do you mean?" John inquired.

Alex's face blushed with embarrassment, and her eyes darted toward the ground. Her cheeks were a bright red color as she sighed heavily, trying to compose herself. "I was jealous...of her."

That was surprising, to say the least. "You were jealous of Cameron?"

"You're really gonna make me say it, aren't you?" Alex groaned in response. John nodded, and she groaned again. "...Before Cameron came along… I was… in love... with you."

Now feeling uncomfortable, John slightly shifted in his seat and looked at Alex with a hint of embarrassment. She was indeed beautiful, and occasionally, they did get along quite well. But this. What she revealed. With what was going on right now with Cameron and Emily. It never occurred to him that Alex had a crush on him. That she actually was in love with him. "Alex, I-"

"I know, I know… you don't feel the same way." Alex finished. "I heard it before, and I know technically, you're a different version of the man I did have feelings for. Don't worry, I've learned to accept it and that's why we are usually pretty good friends."

"Why tell me this?" John then asked.

"When I saw you and Cameron getting close again, I guess I felt threatened. Maybe that's why I acted out as I did. Maybe that is one of the reasons why I despise her so much.

The truth is, John, I do think Cameron is different. I have seen it more times than I should have and just didn't want to accept that, after everything I've been through. Now the both of you aren't talking, which I noticed."

John nodded in acknowledgment. "So you think she is changing too."

"I guess that is one way to put it." Alex accepted. "But she is still a machine, John. Different or not, you still need to remember that."

"Trust me. I haven't." John muttered, taking the time to rub the bruise on his face as a reminder. "And I don't love her."

Alex took immediate notice and took a closer look. "Did she do that to you?"

John sadly nodded, sort of expecting what to come next. They want to burn her for hurting him.

To his surprise, however, Alex stood up and walked over to him, and took a closer look at the bruise. "Well, she could have definitely hit you harder. I'll get you some ice." With that said Alex left the room, and straight for the kitchen to grab an ice pack.

That left John where he bleakly smiled. Some relationships were easier to repair than others.

With Alex still downstairs, John took the chip from its hiding spot and closely looked at it. He did almost get caught red-handed with something that became a common rule to destroy. His mother would surely lose her composure over such a little thing. He needed to be more careful if he was actually gonna get somewhere on this chip. He needed more vigilant.

 _ **Los Angeles, California, December 11, 2007: Zeira Corporation**_

Back at Zeira Corp, it was already dark and the night Skyline of Los Angeles cast out of Catherine Weaver's window. It was late and she would need to be heading home to tuck in Savannah for bed, and made sure that she did her homework. But before that, she needed to take care of some business. Sorting out files and scheduling appointments with other tech firms. Once the AI was complete, then she would imitate the next step in the plan. Teach it morals and ethics. She already had someone in mind and he was closer than she ever expected.

But what Mr. Murch said about the John Henry chip could potentially speed up that process. If John Henry was indeed alive, then using the already developing replacement would most certainly make him even more powerful than Skynet itself. Then she could find what went wrong in the future. What exactly happened, that messed with her plans.

 _ ***Knock, knock, knock***_

Catherine Weaver looked up from her computer, and at who was standing in the doorway.

"Mr. Murch. Come in."

"I'm sorry to bother you, Ms. Weaver," Mr. Murch said with haste and took a seat in one of the chairs in front of Weaver's desk. "But after you left, the chip started acting up."

That caught Weaver's attention immediately. She looked away from her computer and at the man. "What happened?" She asked with concern.

"There is a message that is located on the surface that I managed to intercept." Mr. Murch explained simply, yet excitedly. "But what's strange about it, is who it is for."

"Show me," Weaver demanded blankly. Mr. Murch nodded in acceptance and Catherine Weaver followed Murch down to the elevator, where they both rode the whole way in silence.

When the elevator stopped on the lowest level, Mr. Murch led her down the long hallway of the Zeira Corp's basement, where they both entered the dark, cold room for the second time today. Progress was accelerating relatively fast and she was eager to see what progress was made since last time she was here.

When Catherine entered the dark, cold room, Mr. Murch was the first to walk across the room where he flipped one of the monitors on. After typing into one of the computers, lines of code appeared on the screen which no one could read without knowing how to.

"What is it?" Weaver inquired curiously.

"Hold on," Mr. Murch said, focusing on the laptop once more. After about a few seconds of rapidly typing, the line of code disappeared and was replaced by a simple message text. One that allowed Weaver to read without deciphering.

 _ **/: Where's John? John, where are you? John!**_

"Who is John?" Mr. Murch asked with puzzlement.

Weaver didn't answer Murch's question. She instead found herself engrossed in what the message said. She walked closer to the monitor and stared at it, intrigued. This wasn't John Henry speaking, but someone else. Another being that was housed in that chip. John Henry would have never referred to himself like how this message did. It was meant to be a distress call, a call for concern and loss.

"Ms. Weaver?" Mr. Murch spoke up again with a cough. "Do you know who it is?"

Weaver broke out of her thoughts and looked at the man. She shook her head in response to his question. "No. But I want to know more. Delve further into this chip. Use whatever parts from the Turk to recover what is on that chip."

"But, Ms. Weaver, if we do that then we risk dumping the Artificial intelligence project we started. We can't waste resources based on what kind of message was displayed."

Instant regret poured into him as he watched his boss glare daggers at him, and stalk up close to him in a predatory manner. "What are you saying, Mr. Murch?"

Mr. Murch backed into the table, causing him to nearly lose his balance. He gulped in fear at how his bosses otherwise blank, yet kind composure, turned into that of a sociopath that planned on killing him based on what answer he would give. "I-I-I-I'm saying t-t-that pursuing whatever is on t-that chip won't be worth what we can do by creating an artificial intelligence from scrap."

"You are wrong. Whatever is on that chip is far more valuable if reconstructed, Mr. Murch." Weaver stated in monotone. "I want it done, and I want whatever it is on that chip, intact. Do I make myself clear?"

"Y-yes, Ms. Weaver." Mr. Murch stuttered. Weaver smirked slightly before her expression returned back to its blank death mask and she stalked out of the room.

With Mr. Murch alone, he wiped the sweat off of his forehead and looked back down at the laptop that was hooked up to the computer servers behind the glass wall. Where there was the chip plugged into a lone corner, with dedicated connection components. What Catherine Weaver was demanding was ludicrous. Maybe she didn't know what was on that chip, maybe she did. Whatever the reason was, it could possibly be a mistake. One that he didn't want to take, but was obligated to.

She was quite scary when she was angered, and he did not enjoy being on the end of that stick. He would do his job, and follow what his boss ordered.

•••

 **Author's Note: This was an incredibly short and slow chapter but I had to get it out of the way so we can delve into the more juicy parts of this tiny subplot.**

 **The next chapter we will be focusing on the dance and what comes after it so stay tuned for more updates!**

 **Reviews and constructive criticism is gladly appreciated and supported!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Terminator: No Fate But What We Make**

 **Chapter 25**

 _ **Los Angeles, California, August 10, 2027: (Location Unknown)**_

Upon opening his eyes, he was greeted with fire drawing closer to him and the sounds of the helicopter comms channel receiving distress calls from the nearby bunker. Lying there, he wondered if it was worth checking into. Maybe he was dead and this was hell? If so, it was the same God damn thing as the world he just left.

" _ **This is Kansas Bunker! Please, anyone, we are trapped down here! Endos are at our gates and we can't last much longer here!"**_

This was it. John sat up and crawled his way towards the cockpit. Immediately, he noticed the two dead pilots who appeared to have died from the initial impact of the crash. He must have been lucky because even Cameron was sucked out just as they went down.

He stopped when he remembered what occurred. His new bodyguard was gone and he was forced to survive alone, out here, in the desolate wasteland with no place to go.

" _ **Is anyone there? Please answer! Kansas Bunker is under attack!"**_

John picked up radio from the dashboard and took a deep breath before speaking. "This is John Connor. What is your status, soldier?"

" _ **General? Oh, thank God! There are too many of them! We need assistance!"**_

What was he supposed to say? Tell his soldiers that he wasn't able to save them this time? Tell them that they were dead and he couldn't do anything about it? They looked up to him, and with everything going on right now, he wasn't sure what to do at this moment.

" _ **General Connor, please send backup! We are trapped down here! Woman and children are with us! We don't stand a chance- Oh no... they got through! They got through! John, please help us-"**_

That was it. The line from Kansas Bunker went silent and all he did was just listen to all those souls die all because of him. All because he didn't respond. All because he didn't give a reassuring lie to tell them that everything was going to be okay.

He knew it for years, but being reminded of what hell he was in, stung. This world was full of death and destruction. He was meant to lead all of humanity behind him and make decisions that would ultimately cost innocent lives.

Suddenly, a loud whirring sound came from above, and a light cast above him. John backed up and looked up at the blinding light as it fully illuminated his presence. He knew what it was. An Aerial Hunter Killer. However, it didn't shoot him. Instead, it flew away, back to the flaming ruins of Kansas Bunker.

It was a scout searching for any surviving humans. He needed to get out of here and link up with any surviving factions that he could.

Searching through the crashed out helicopter, all he could find were a few flares and a P226 with one clip. Too bad there wasn't much to use to protect himself. Right now a plasma rifle would prove more useful to taking down terminators than a stupid pea shooter. But he had to take what he could get.

Now loaded up with the remaining supplies, John ventured away from the crash and through the ruins of what was once a vast, Los Angeles street, but was now filled with destroyed cars with bleached skeletons inside, and toppled over buildings. Concrete littered the streets, along with some early generation humanoid terminators.

It reminded him of the early days of the war. When Skynet was still young and learning how to properly kill humans. Then it was easier. Now it was almost unfair with how fast the evil AI was advancing. Newer terminators were harder to kill. Common firearms were practically useless. Plasma weaponry was more practical when taking down such machines. But Skynet was the only supplier, so it was difficult to acquire such weapons for an entire army that it was against.

After walking about a mile away from Kansas Bunker, John found himself in an old park. The grass was gone and dirt was everywhere, but the playground equipment was still around, if not partially intact. In the distance, he could see two Ariel HKs drawing closer to him. He needed to hide and quick.

John found an old concrete slab in the middle of the street, and hid under it, and began to patiently wait as the Hunter Killers would be flying over him in a matter of seconds.

However, when he sat down, he noticed something present with him. He jolted back in fear as he saw what it was. An old T-600 with its arm pinned underneath the concrete. He aimed his gun at the base of its skull and timidly waited for any movement that could possibly come from the machine.

Luckily it didn't move. With how much dust was covering it, he guessed it was here for quite a while. Maybe a year or two at most. However, he still didn't feel comfortable with how it stared at him. Hopefully, those Hunter Killers will pass over him soon, so he could leave.

He got his answer when the loud engines of the Ariel HKs flew above him before fading away in the distance. He relaxed somewhat and looked back at the old, beaten up machine. Finally, he could get away from this thing.

John crawled out of the rubble and stood back up where he was greeted with the cold, nuclear winter, of the post-Judgement Day world.

He would have to find shelter soon. Making a camp would have to do until he could find some way to contact General Perry for extraction. John turned left and began walking down the street until his foot got caught on something.

 _Damn rocks!_

However, when he looked down at his boot, expecting his bootlaces to be caught in the rubble, he found a metal hand tightly latched onto his heel. He followed the length of the arm down to the rubble pile, where he saw the T-600 firmly grabbing his foot, and looking at him with its cold metal stare.

John fell back in fright and looked on as the terminator tried crawling for him, only to be stopped by its arm being caught under the concrete slab. He aimed his gun at the machine and thought about shooting it. It was practically harmless right now. With it being stuck, he could just get away and not have to risk compromising his location to the Hunter-Killers that just flew overhead.

After contemplating whether or not he should shoot the machine, he settled for getting up and walking away from the thing. But even that proved a dumb move on his part as he witnessed the T-600 beginning to kick the concrete slab away, and successfully getting its arm free. The machine quickly crawled over to John who started shooting at its face but wasn't fazed by the small dents that followed the bullet impacts.

The machine continued to crawl its way towards John with intent on terminating him at any cost. John backed away as fast as he could until he came to another pile of debris and waited until the machine was in position. Once it was just a few inches away, John pushed over the standing debris and pinned the entire T-600 underneath.

John sighed in relief. The primitive AI of a T-600 was a given at this point. They weren't as smart or at calculative as the current models.

A loud whirring drew nearer arsed nearer. He recognized that sound. But before he even had time to react, he found himself in the Hunter Killer's searchlight.

 _Well, that's a stupid move._

He completely forgot about the HK. He was so caught up with trying to take out the 600, it completely went over his head that the Ariel Hunter Killers had great sound perception.

John closed his eyes, prepared for the shot that would take his life in this cruel world.

The HK aimed it's plasma turrets at John and fired at the man with full force. However, a smaller figure ran into the searchlight and tackled him out of it. In turn, the plasma fire did nothing.

John looked around in disbelief. He was somewhat thankful that he was still alive, but how? He should have been a smoldering pile of burning flesh. The searchlight hovered over him again, this time, allowing him a view of his savior who also was caught in the Hunter Killer's fire.

"Run!" Cameron barked.

He didn't need to be told twice. Cameron helped him onto his feet, and the two bolted away from the incoming plasma fire once more. They both made a break for the old shell of a skyscraper and hid behind a pillar.

"How many made it?" John asked the machine.

"I found a small group about half a mile from here. We need to get to them before sunrise or we're going to have to take our chances out here until sunset," Cameron explained.

"Is there a way out of here?" John then asked. Cameron nodded and took the lead with John following close behind. They both made it through piles of debris and bones before they made it through the back. Luckily, the HK was just circling around at the time so that allowed them to make another break for the building just across the street.

They continued rinsing and repeating until they were about eight blocks away from their original location. John had to stop and take a break as he felt exhaustion from the constant sneaking around. To him, it's been years since he's done anything like this. Mostly he commanded the last pocket of fighting humans on the planet and he was no scavenger like most.

"Come on, they're just over here," Cameron motioned for John to follow. He did, and the two prepared themselves to cross the street again, and into yet into another old rotted building.

John stopped when he felt a slight rumbling from the ground underneath his feet. He knelt down and felt the cracked asphalt, and tried to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. Cameron did the same and looked towards the east side where an Ogre Tank was just turning the corner.

Both didn't say anything, and Cameron dragged John behind an old car where she covered his mouth her hand. The two silently waited, hoping that the massive HK wouldn't drive over them.

Luckily, when they saw the treads on their right, they knew it decided to ignore most debris right now. As they watched the gigantic terminator pass them, Cameron grabbed John and began to lead him into the other building.

But when he took another step, his foot slipped on a human skull, and he sprained his ankle. The sheer pain made him scream in pain, and the still leaving Ogre stopped dead in its tracks and turned where it identified John and Cameron immediately.

Cameron attempted to drag John away but she calculated that it would be too slow to avoid the fire from such a machine.

It charged it's turrets, and aimed at the two. As the weapons systems were about to fire, a large object impacted its side causing a damage report to fill its heads-up display. The Ogre looked to its left, finding a Resistance attack helicopter firing missiles at the armor plating that protected its ability to see.

The sheer heat was enough to melt away the armor and eventually gave away. The Ogre's systems failed and the entire machine shut down.

As the helicopter prepared for landing, Cameron helped John onto his feet and was instead treated to a tight hug from the General before he let go and the cold expression on his face returned. "Thank you, Cameron."

"It's my mission to protect you," Cameron simply answered.

"General Connor! General Perry has requested to speak with you!" A young Resistance fighter acknowledged.

John nodded in agreement and Cameron helped him onto the chopper. "Alright, take me to him."

 _ **Los Angeles, California, December 14, 2007: (Connor Safehouse)**_

Everything was illogical. That was repeated in her mind, over and over again. John's intentions did not make sense, nor were they justified. He just wanted to control her and she didn't like that. Being only taken for a grain of salt and used only as a thing and not a person.

However, she would not tell anyone of these feelings. They would just laugh at her and think something was wrong.

Illogical decisions based on emotion they were. She knew how much everyone in this house hated her. What they say behind her back and sometimes even in front of her face. She never showed what she really felt, but it was akin to what humans described as sadness.

She still wondered what happened. After experiencing these glitches, she searched hard for the source code, trying to find why she felt this way. Machines weren't meant to feel, they weren't meant to have any emotion whatsoever. She was designed for a single purpose and that was to kill humans. Be the perfect weapon.

But then why did she feel sorrow for the harsh things said to her? Why did she feel something akin to comfort when John had touched her hand earlier that weekend?

It was simple really. She was broken. A warning constantly flashed on her screen, almost commanding her to kill John. Every time she glanced at him, even so much as thought about him, that mission would reappear. She was no longer John's protector and she told him that. But she would never kill him, nor would she let him be harmed. Without a purpose, she felt lost and despite John's idiotic attitude and attempts to control her, she needed something to keep her mind busy.

That was why she still patrolled the neighborhood. That was why she followed Emily after school every day just to find out where she lives. Even though she couldn't enter the property with all guards present, and an 86.42 percent of being caught, she avoided investigating any further. Still, she did not trust Emily. She was mysterious in some ways. She manipulates John in some way and she can seem to study such behavior without further spying.

"What are you doing in here?" Alex asked from behind.

Cameron looked away from the window and at the Hybrid with her same stoic expression. "Searching the perimeter for threats."

"Oh, yeah?" Alex mused sarcastically. "Well, why don't you do that downstairs? I want to get a little nap and I can't do that when a killer cyborg is standing above me like a guard dog."

Cameron tilted her head in confusion, although she knew what she meant. It hurt to have Alex demand that she leave her room and go downstairs. But like every time before, she accepted without word and left the room with Alex shutting the door and locking it.

Again, she was insulted by Alex, which was no surprise. Now she was locked out of her own room again. There was no going back in there for at least a few hours. With the dance being tomorrow, she wasn't sure what to do, or what to wear. A simple dress would suffice, but what of her footwear? In magazines, the models wore stilettos to match their dress and the only pairs of shoes that she considered hers were her favorite combat boots and a pair of white sneakers that Alex couldn't wear because they were two sizes too small for her.

She would need to find the proper attire for tomorrow and she would need to move quickly. With school just recently letting out and all of the midterms were completed, it was already getting late thanks to the sun setting an hour earlier than usual.

With that in mind, Cameron stalked her way downstairs and into the living room. For the most part, it was quiet. She could hear Sarah in the kitchen and Derek Reese was nowhere to be seen. Luckily she could avoid further scolding from the traumatized soldier.

Cameron walked into the kitchen where she found Sarah closely looking at the new, recently bought toaster. She had a notepad, and a handgun next to her as she appeared to be studying the piece of household appliance. By the looks of it, the thing had been dismantled and was separated into pieces.

"What are you doing?"

Sarah looked up at the cyborg, her face turning slightly irritated. She looked back down and continued looking at the toaster. "Trying to find out why Keran wanted this particular kind of toaster."

Cameron looked at the box near Sarah and looked back at the woman with one possible answer displaying themselves on her heads-up display. "There is a Tortilla toaster installed, which is quite rare in common toasters."

"I know that," Sarah sneered. "Why would someone like Keran want something like this?"

"Humans like Tortillas?" Cameron purposed.

Sarah set down her pen and rubbed her eyes in irritation. She looked up at Cameron with a look of exasperation. "What are you doing here? You always are either in your room or patrolling the block."

"I was just making conversation," Cameron responded blankly.

"Bullshit," Sarah said with venom. "Why are you really here, Tin Miss?"

Cameron looked away from Sarah and at the table where she found a sudden interest in one of the left beer cans by Derek Reese. "I wanted your help."

Sarah's expression turned from that of annoyance to that of complete surprise. "You want _my_ help?"

"Yes." Cameron nodded.

"Why?" Sarah then inquired unsurely.

"Because you are a female, and thus have had female problems. I need your help in trying to understand how to handle them."

Sarah's eyes widened in response, mouth agape, as the young cyborg curiously stared at her. "Cameron, I'm sure you don't have those kinds of problems down there. At least I hope you don't have woman troubles. But how do you expect me to-"

"I need help finding a dress and shoes for tomorrow's dance." Cameron abruptly spoke.

In response, Sarah closed her mouth and continued to stare at the cyborg in disbelief. "Oh. You want me to...help you find a dress?"

"Yes. You know about female wants and needs more than me, and I would appreciate the assistance."

Sarah was beyond confused. The Tin Miss surely didn't mess around, aside from the occasional _'I fooled you'_ line she sometimes used as an attempt at humor, although she never understood it. Cameron was never one to fool around, she was a machine. But a machine was asking her to tag along on a shopping trip with it? One that involved dresses instead of tactical vests, high heels instead of guns. This was ludicrous. Never in a million years has she ever expected anything this strange coming from a terminator.

But alas, she was left with an ultimatum. She can easily say no and go back to figuring out what this damn toaster did before Alex came downstairs to see, or she could help Cameron find a dress for that stupid Winter dance. Sarah looked at the slightly taken apart toaster and winced at its inglorious looking nature.

 _I'll just tell Tin Head that Derek did it._

"Fine. I'll help you." Sarah agreed and grabbed her gun from the table. "Let me just grab my coat."

 _ **Later That Day:**_

"I am so happy your mother let us hang out today!" Emily squealed in delight. John couldn't help but chuckle at Emily's display of excitement. Although she didn't like it initially, mom reluctantly accepted Emily after a few days and she was able to come over more often than not. Still wary of her at times, like Sarah Connor always was, she didn't mind Emily being around so much, however they could no longer leave their weapons arsenal lying around when she did.

But with Midterms finally being completed, and Winter Break finally starting, he was free of school for two whole weeks. Two whole weeks of relaxing and not having to worry about a single damn thing for that span of time.

"So are you ready for the dance, tomorrow?" Emily asked him with curiosity.

But not just yet. There was still the Winter dance tomorrow. The one that he was putting off for _way_ too long, while Emily mentioned it nonstop. Under given circumstances, he wouldn't have even cared too much about it. Going with Emily was more or less just a little activity. But as far as he knew, Cameron was going, and she actually had a date. A killing cyborg from the future was going to a Winter dance, possibly all dolled up, and with an unknowing, hormonal teenage boy.

That thought made him shudder in disgust. The mere thought of Drake Huntington and Cameron was something he had to force back down to the deepest parts of his mind.

Emily shook John's shoulder, causing him to break away from those thoughts and focus his attention back on the petite, beautiful girl. "John? Are you okay?"

John forced a smile and chuckled. "Yeah. I mean, why wouldn't I be?"

"You just seem...distracted is all," she pointed out. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Emily, I assure you, there is nothing wrong. I just… I space out sometimes."

Emily took that as a sign of reassurance and relaxed for the time being. She stared out of the window with curiosity as she watched John's mother and sister pull up into the driveway, and enter the house. "Your mother is home. Maybe I should go ahead and leave."

"Wait why?" John inquired. Yes, he understood Emily possibly being uncomfortable with his mother's presence. She had that effect on people occasionally. More often than not had she pushed friends away from him.

Before Emily could even utter the words to speak, the door opened and came walking in was Sarah and Cameron, both carrying shopping bags around their arms. Sarah was surprised but didn't give a look of disgust at the little girl and smiled.

"Emily. What a pleasant surprise. What are you doing here?"

"I didn't want to go home right away, so I thought it would be okay to hang out with John for a few hours," she explained timidly. "I hope you don't mind, Ms. Baum."

"I don't mind at all, Emily. Just let me know next time though," Sarah sternly told the young blonde.

Emily smiled. "I will. Thank you."

"Well… let me put these bags up. So I'll leave you two to it." Sarah mentioned and walked away with all bags in hand.

However, Cameron still stood in behind the couch, staring at John and Emily with blankness and a hint of confusion.

"Cameron. Maybe you want to go put those bags up?" John hinted. He knew what she was possibly thinking. She mentioned that Emily was a possible security risk. In her own, twisted machine way, she hated Emily. Although she had done nothing wrong for her to even come up with such a conclusion. Right now Emily was the only person who he found comfort in talking to, and he wasn't about to let some damn terminator take that away from him.

Cameron reluctantly accepted and made her way to the staircase and began climbing up to her room. However, she stopped when she heard Emily speak again, and peeked in on the two.

"Well, I better get home. It's getting late. So I'll see you tomorrow at seven?"

"Yeah. Definitely."

"Good."

Cameron's jaw almost dropped when she saw Emily lean in close to John and peck him on the lips before she left through the front door. John was honestly astonished and Cameron's eyes glared at the door. She saw John give off a bright smile, indicating that he did, in fact, enjoy it.

Cameron's eyes diverted away from John and she continued to climb the stairs and looked while staring at the floorboards as she ascended.

 _ **Connor Safehouse, December 15, 2007: (The Following Day)**_

Taking the time to apply extra hair gel into his spiky hair, John examined himself in the mirror one more time, making sure his appearance was on par. Under such circumstances, he wouldn't be doling himself up as much as he was right now. But tonight was different. He straightened his bow tie and made sure that his cuffs were buttoned. Adding a bit of cologne for good measure was best.

This was it. He was going to a dance with a very beautiful girl. Better yet, he was feeling like he was normal for once in his life. There was no Judgement Day, no war with the machines. He was John Baum for tonight. A normal, simple teenager. Not John Connor, the future General of the Human Resistance.

"Are you ready?" Alex asked from the doorway of the Bathroom.

John looked over at the woman who was wearing a very appropriate, yet beautiful, green dress. If it weren't for her, he wasn't sure if his mother would let him go at all.

"Yeah. Let me just grab my coat," He told her, and went into his room to grab his pressed suit jacket that laid neatly on his bed. After throwing it on, he turned towards Alex who had followed him into his room and bleakly smiled. "So where is Cameron at?" He then asked. She was a different story considering she could handle her own in a fight with an industrial grade killing robot. The fact that she was one, to begin with, was an entirely another story.

"That Dick guy picked her up a few minutes ago," She explained to John. "Guess it's just me, you, and your little girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend, she's just a friend." John groaned tiredly.

"Whatever you say, John." Alex couldn't help but giggle at John's embarrassment.

John jokingly shoved her back and the two made their way downstairs, to the living room. There, Sarah was comfortably on the couch, jotting down notes into a book. She looked up at the two who entered the room and smiled. She put away her book and went up to her son.

"You two look ready."

"Because I'm so looking forward to babysitting teenagers while wearing a dress tighter than those stocking you wore to that club?" Alex sarcastically quipped.

"Keep talking Tin Head, and I'll make you both walk." Sarah chuckled. She looked over at her son and engulfed him in a big hug. "And you have fun. But do what Alex says and stay out of trouble. Got it?" She acknowledged sternly.

"I got it, mom." John sighed in response. "Like anything is gonna happen tonight anyway."

"We better get going," Alex spoke up and grabbed John by the wrist. "Let's go. Don't worry, Sarah, i'll have him home safe and sound." With that, Sarah waved goodbye at the two as they got in the SUV and pulled away from the driveway.

•••

There was no better place to feel the most uncomfortable he's ever felt in his entire life. Well, the second most uncomfortable place next to having to live with mostly women and his hard ass uncle. The house was pretty huge. Probably expensive by the looks of it. The front yard had bright green grass and he was sure he even saw a balcony when they pulled up.

He reached for the doorbell and pressed the button. Inside, he could hear the bell ring and awaited as footsteps made their way to the door. John took a deep breath, and the door opened revealing a man who was of middle age and had slightly greying spiked hair.

What he expected was far different than what he received. This man smiled and held out his hand. "Hello, I'm Emily's stepfather, Daniel Hill You must be John."

"Uhh, yeah... I mean yes, I am." John stuttered in a nervous fashion as shook the man's hand. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Hill."

"Well come in," Emily's father invited. John reluctantly did so and stepped into the house. The living room was quite nice if he had to admit. The furniture was modern, and it gave a nice warm, cinnamon scent to it. "Well, I'll go ahead and go get her. Take seat. You know how women can be."

John chucked and heeded his suggestion and took a seat on the couch. He hoped it wouldn't be too long. With Alex waiting in the car he knew how impatient she could be. Especially when she wasn't in the greatest mood right now.

John anxiously waited, looking around at the paintings and even the neat looking fireplace that stretched across the wall. She surely did live in style. Emily was probably one of those girls who grew up spoiled and had everything she ever wanted. It was quite opposite to his life. Spending most of your time running from a destiny and killer robots that wanted to kill him because of his destiny. He remembered living most of his childhood in poverty. What his mother did just so he could eat and have a place to sleep at night.

When John looked up at the stairwell, he saw Emily descending. He stood up and gulped. She was beautiful. Her red dress complemented her eyes. It was strapless which revealed her shoulders, and it was a decent enough length, where it wasn't too revealing.

"Wow. You look amazing." John stuttered.

Emily's face turned red in response and she shyly looked away. "Thank you, John."

"Well, I guess this is where I take the pictures, huh?" A woman enthusiastically exclaimed. Guessing by the way she walked into the room with Emily's father wrapped around her, John guessed it had to be her mother.

After being introduced again to Emily's mother, pictures were taken. However, a churning feeling in his stomach began to arise. The only other instance he had felt something like this was when he was almost killed by the T-950 back in New Mexico. Was it because he was meeting a girl's parents? He never had done anything like this before. Perhaps it was just a new feeling of nervousness? That seemed a most likely scenario.

Now that Emily's parents were done, John decided to take this opportune moment and spoke up. "Yeah, well we better get going. Don't want to leave my sister waiting in the car!"

"Wait hold up one second, Johnny boy!" Emily's father halted. "Before you leave I need to speak with my daughter privately."

Her mother responded by glaring at her husband. "Daniel…"

"I know, I'm just being the overprotective one," He chuckled in response.

John watched as his date obediently followed her father into the next room, leaving him standing with one other individual.

"So, John. Where are you from?"

That beaming smile, she cast on him, was enough to make him mentally shiver. Something seemed off. Not just about Emily's mother, but her father too. He knew what a so-called _"normal"_ family was like. They were nowhere near as perfect as these people. Even Emily's personality seemed off sometimes too. There was no questioning by her father what his intentions were with his daughter. There was no prep talk about if he were to hurt her tonight, he would make good fertilizer for their garden. If they even had one of course.

But no, this wasn't right.

"Alright, well you two better get going!"

John was thrown off by Emily's father's voice. How long had he been looking through his own thoughts? It had to be nothing, right? It was just his training coming into full effect. Don't trust anyone or anything. Now he felt like he was slowly becoming his mother.

"Don't worry, Mr. Hill. I'll have your daughter home at midnight. Don't worry." John assured her parents. Again, their smiles made him uncomfortable, but he managed to hide it with a smile and bid them farewell.

While walking across the street to the SUV, Emily giggled and wrapped her arms around John. "I'm sorry if my parents made you nervous. They have that effect on people."

"No, no, no, it's okay. I thought they were… great!"

"John." Emily sternly glared at him. "You can tell me the truth. They made you uncomfortable, huh?"

"Emily, they were fine," John reassured. "Trust me."

Emily smiled back and the two hopped in the SUV, with both taking the back seat. Luckily the California heat was immediately blasted away by the air conditioner Alex had turned on, and the local radio station that was playing today's relevant music.

"Jesus Christ, John, I was almost thinking you were being murdered by nice white people!" Alex sarcastically quipped in irritation.

In response, Emily looked through John's eyes with a hint of concern. "She's only joking," He rest assured to his beautiful date. To further prove his point, he glared at Alex through the rearview mirror, to whom had caught his glance. "Right sis?"

"Err- I mean, yeah! Just some jokes to lighten the Christmas mood!"

Again, the awkward silence filled the car and John rolled his eyes in annoyance. "How about we leave now?"

"Right!" Alex snapped. She threw the vehicle into gear and drove away from Emily's house, and set a destination for the high school dance.

•••

The music, the lights, and the crowds of people; all in one place. This was a night to remember and that is what he set out to do. Make it memorable. He wasn't gonna let anyone get in the way of that. A beautiful girl asked him to the dance and he accepted. Now he was here with her and he was honestly quite happy with himself. The fact that this was the first time he's had an actual date. Who knows, maybe after tonight, with just enough hope, he and Emily could be something?

That would surely be interesting that's for sure.

But why did he still feel empty? After everything that has occurred in these past two months, he was certain that this was probably the best day he's had in a long time. Probably since Cherie's party.

But what now? Now that he was here what was he supposed to do? Dance with Emily? Grab her some punch, or raid the snack table? As long as there were none of his mother's pancakes, he might just indulge if worse came to worst.

"Alright, you two have fun, and don't get too close you know?" Alex yelled through all the loud music that was played. "I have to make sure there isn't any groping of any kind or I get fired!"

"Okay, Alex!" John agreed.

Alex smiled in satisfaction and only frowned when she looked at the dance floor and saw two students get a little too hands-on with each other. "Hey! I see you two!"

With Alex marching off to deal with a few troublemaking teenagers, Emily smiled and dragged John onto the dance floor with her. The music was very intense. Everything from the beat to the electronic tones that busted together with the pulsating lights, almost creating a rave type feel to the whole thing.

Well despite the people thrashing and acting like animals that is.

After many dances with Emily, and probably the only time anyone would catch him red handing in attempting to dance to fast pace music, he was pooped. John walked to the punch bowl with Emily following and the two grabbed a cup as well as a small snack to fill the appetite they both created from all the movement.

John looked down at his cell phone, almost hoping to have his mother call in for an emergency or something. It was only ten minutes since he arrived so that meant at least a few more hours of dancing until he passed out from exhaustion.

"Are you having fun, John?" Emily asked with a giggle.

"Yeah. Definitely!" John nodded in agreement.

"That's good," Emily smirked with satisfaction and took a sip of her drink. John led Emily to a more secluded area of the gym and the two took a seat at a small table to rest their feet.

However, Emily was still exuberant in nature. She was alert, looking towards the dance floor as if she expected something to come from it.

"Emily, are you okay?" John asked with worry. "How about you take a seat for a while." Emily hesitantly did so, but she still had her eyes locked on to the dance floor, watching it with intent.

John somewhat relaxed for and moment and pondered what tonight was like. He was exhausted already, sure, but he was having fun. Dancing was not his favorite activity, he just enjoyed being with someone who made him feel normal.

"John, Hey!"

Well, his moment of relaxation was over that's for sure. But who was walking towards him, he was quite dumbfounded to see. "Morris?"

"Hey man! How are you doing?" Morris exclaimed in delighted. He stopped upon noticing Emily sitting close to John and froze. "Who is this?"

"I'm doing good, and this is Emily," John answered.

"Nice to meet you, Emily, I'm Morris," He introduced himself.

"I'm well aware of that," Emily responded simply and sat back in her chair.

The two exchanged handshakes and high-fives before too taking a seat with him and Emily. "What about you?" John then decided on asking. "After Cherie's party, I thought you they put you in juvie?"

"I was, but I'm out now. Guess there isn't too much they can do to you for being too drunk," Morris said in a chuckle. "What about you?" He then asked John directly. "What have you been up to?"

"The same thing, pretty much."

"Is your cousin here by any chance?" Morris asked curiously. "We never got to speak much after the party."

What was he supposed to say to that? She was dead. There was no way she was coming back unless he somehow managed to program that chip to act like a quirky, sadistic eighteen-year-old girl. "She… moved back to Canada."

"Canada?" Morris inquired with confusion. "Why?"

"She felt homesick, so going back there was what she wanted." Morris sadly accepted the answer and changed the subject. He felt bad about lying to Morris, but what else could he say? She was dead, killed months ago by one of Sarkissian's crazy henchmen. This way was better than telling him the truth. There was less pain thinking that someone you cared about only moved away and wasn't lying six feet under currently.

The music was just in the moment of changing when suddenly, the gym doors opened, and two people walked in, both looking amazing. John stopped in place and stared at who one of them was.

 _Cameron?_

The way her hair cascaded over her shoulders, and the makeup that exaggerated her already perfect facial features. The dress was perfect. The black hue complemented her beautiful, yet curvy figure. She was perfect in every way. Flawless as a painting.

Seeing how lost John seemed to be like he was in some sort of trance, she lightly poked him, trying to get his attention. When that failed, her eyes followed his and he saw who exactly he was staring at.

John, Morris, and Emily all looked on in awe. But who accompanied her made them all gag. Drake Huntington who had his arms wrapped around her, treating her like a toy he'd rather keep all to himself.

Emily leaned towards John and began to whisper. "Your sister looks-"

"Hot!" Morris immediately interrupted. Both Emily and John stared at Morris with intent.

"Morris, what the hell?" John spat at his friend with disgust.

"Sorry man," Morris said timidly. "It's just that your sister looks amazing! Don't you think?"

"Will you please leave!?"

Morris was shocked at Emily's sudden outburst. John even more so. Never was she the one who told someone to get lost. At least for as long as he knew her, she wasn't the type to lash out as she did to him. As Morris got up and left in defeat, John looked at Emily with concern and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Of course!" Emily exclaimed. She took one last glance at Cameron and Drake, who had taken to the dance floor, and back at John. She could still see his glance faltering and diverting towards the dance floor where she predicted.

An idea suddenly popped into her mind as a slow dance began to play overhead. Emily stood up and dragged John onto his feet and led him to the floor where she immediately wrapped her arms around him and pressed herself very intimately against his body.

The sudden closeness caught him off guard. He won't lie, it felt nice but at the same time, it didn't feel right. He had no other choice but to hold her close as they slowly found a rhythm to the music and their bodies. They swayed back and forth, with a smile creeping up on Emily's face.

But John's eyes still darted behind him where he saw Cameron repeating the same actions with Drake.

Feeling him tense up, Emily looked up at John and the two stopped. Although he didn't see it, she noticed him still staring at Cameron and Drake. "You know what, let's go get a drink."

John agreed. He and Emily made their way to the snack table where she filled a nearby glass cup with fruit punch and handed him the glass. He lightly took sips while still staring at the two in the moment of the slow dance.

"John are you worried about Cameron?" Emily asked with concern.

Taken aback at her sudden statement, John scrambled for an answer. "I… I don't trust him."

"I understand," Emily nodded in agreement. "He's one of the guys who harassed me on my first day, so I understand your reasoning."

The two silently continued watching Drake and Cameron dance. All the way into the second song, the two kept the same motions. Drake occasionally tried to talk but like always, Cameron didn't say much. As the dance continued John glared daggers at Drake which he was oblivious of. Suddenly he saw Drake's hand, which was resting on Cameron's waist, slowly creeping up towards her bare back and rested on her flawless skin.

At that moment John couldn't hold himself back any longer. Something inside him snapped and the cup in his hand shattered under his tight grip. John was surprised himself and looked down at his hand and what he did. Emily was surprised too at the sudden sound of glass breaking. Then she saw the cut on John's hand and it beginning to bleed intensively. She was about to go and take a look to show him her concern, but someone had already beaten her to him.

Cameron was already there with John's hand in hers and examining the cut carefully.

John, on the other hand, couldn't help himself but stare at the gorgeous brunette who was standing very close to him. So close that he could feel the warmth radiating from her body. She also smelt wonderful because of the perfume she used, not that she didn't without the perfumes. John looked at her carefully, the worry and concern in her eyes, they seemed…..genuine. Not something a machine should be capable of….

"John, what happened? The cut looks deep." Cameron said with obvious worry in her voice which didn't go unnoticed by Emily. "We need to clean the wound."

"I…. I am alright. It's just a cut. Nothing major. You don't have to worry." John said softly still looking into her brown eyes.

Cameron slowly let his hand go. John felt…. Disappointed? She stepped back and looked towards Emily and then back at John. "I will always worry about you." She softly said.

John was about to say something but at that moment Drake cut in. "Hey, Cameron. Come on! Let's dance." He grabbed her by her hand and dragged her away. But not without giving John one last glance full of worry.

Emily came near John and rested her hand on his shoulder. "John. Are you alright?" She asked.

No response.

"John?" She asked again.

No response again.

"John let's go and get your other sister. She can probably treat your hand." She mentioned with obvious irritation in her voice, noticing where her date was staring or more specifically at whom he was staring at.

But he still gave no response. It didn't look like he even heard her. She noticed how his jaw was clenched tightly obviously in anger and something else which she couldn't figure out.

"John!" This time she lightly pushed him to get his attention and it worked.

"Oh! I…. I am sorry." John apologized. "I kind of zoned out."

"Yeah, you're telling me!" Emily responded with hostility.

Again, he was shocked by her sudden bitterness. "Emily? Are you alright?" He asked as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

Emily brushed off his hand and stood up. "I'm fine," was what she said before marching away, and towards the restrooms.

John chased her through the dance crowd and successfully stopped her before she reached the restrooms. "Emily, what is wrong with you?"

Emily seemed to take offense at this accusation and looked at John with a hint of anger. "What is wrong with me?! What is wrong with you?! You're practically ogling your sister! You didn't even react to me like that!"

Well, it couldn't have sounded much weirder coming from someone else's mouth. But she had a point.

With John at a loss for words, she took that as his answer and disappeared into the women's restrooms. That left John standing there like a complete idiot. She saw him staring at Cameron. His _"fake sister"_ whom he probably shouldn't be looking at in that way anyway. The girl who was secretly a machine in disguise.

This was going to be a bitch to explain to her. As far as Emily knew, she was his sister. Him staring at Cameron in the manner she indicated towards definitely set off red flags everywhere. Now, who knew what she was thinking.

John Baum was a creep who stared at his sister with longing for lust or some other bullshit. Now he felt pretty damn pathetic. He needed to talk to Emily. Leaving her be wasn't the best idea right now. Especially with the mistakes that were just made.

John sent a last glare towards Drake who was trying to flirt with Cameron and went out. He just couldn't stay there. Seeing _her_ dancing with him made him realize one thing. He was jealous. But why? Why was he jealous about Cameron dancing with someone else?

 _Oh! You know why Connor. You like her,_ He told himself.

 _Him. Like her? Wait! What?!_

 _Why not?_ He told himself again. _Does it even matter that she is not human? Did he ever see her as just a machine?_ The answer was _'No'_. He never did. He always looked at her as a person.

A few events came to his mind while battling with his thoughts. When his whole family was about to burn Cameron, only he was there beside her, although he knew that it was very likely that she could have killed him at any moment. He was prepared to sacrifice himself to save her and even went against his own mother, Alex, and his uncle. He didn't understand why he did it then, but now maybe he understood….. Perhaps.

Then he remembered the event of Cameron suffering the glitch. What Alex had said to him a few days after they rescued Cameron:

" _I know you're in love with Cameron, John."_

He denied it back then. He was not even honest with himself then. But he is now. Now he knew that what Alex said was true. He does love Cameron. Not as his sister or a friend but something more, something more personal, intimate.

•••

A few minutes slowly went by, and the dance continued on as usual. Drake led her into another slow dance which she accepted. As the dance went on Drake's hand on her body slowly started to move near intimate areas over her body. She could tell what he wanted but he will never get it. And besides, she is not interested in him. She wanted to break his hands but she couldn't because of John's sake. A petite girl breaking a large boys hand will _attract attention_ as Sarah said.

She only agreed to attend this event with Drake after she agreed to help him with his grade in Geometry. He was meant to be a learning opportunity so that she may blend in more efficiently. John always berated her on how she had terrible social skills. At least this way she could further spread her knowledge of how teenagers worked.

But she was getting extremely uncomfortable with how his hand was roaming over her body. No one was allowed to touch her that way…. Except for John. Speaking of John, she could not see him anywhere near the dance floor. Even his date, Emily, seemed to be absent. Did she take him somewhere else? Is he alright? She had to be sure that he was safe.

Suddenly she stopped dancing and extracted herself away from Drake's arms.

"Cameron?" Drake inquired with confusion. "What's wrong?"

"I need to find my brother. I don't see him," Cameron said looking around.

Drake chuckled in response and pulled her closer. "Come on, Cameron. John is a big boy, he can take care of himself. Besides, he is probably having some fun with that Emily girl."

Cameron felt something akin to anger after hearing Drake's words. Maybe what he said was true. But still, she needs to find John and make sure that he was alright.

Cameron forcibly pried off Drake's hold on her, with his hands slightly giving away and the pain shooting upwards. "You don't know anything," She spat and sent a glare towards him before marching away.

She searched everywhere. Every nook and cranny of the high school gym and John was nowhere to be found. This worried her greatly. He would never just disappear. Would he? Maybe he did go with Emily somewhere. Hormonal teenage boys were known to be more eager when a beautiful, fertile female teenager was to tempt them.

She desperately hoped that was not the case with John.

Cameron even went as far as to search the women's restroom, thinking that John may have ended up in there for some unknown reason.

When she opened the door, she found only one individual to be present.

Emily.

What had Cameron curious was the fact that she was desperately touching her own eye. She took a closer look but not before Emily noticed Cameron and stepped away. "What are you doing?" She asked with irritation.

"I'm looking for John," Cameron answered, still staring at her with curiosity.

Making sure to keep her gaze away from Cameron, Emily answered. "Yeah well, what makes you think he's in here? Your horny brother is probably somewhere else trying to spy on you when he has the chance."

Cameron didn't say anything. She instead turned on her literal heels and exited the restroom.

She must have spent the entire night looking for him. That's what it felt like at least. She searched every square inch of the gym and found zero trace of John. She was worried. Maybe he ran off? Maybe a terminator found him and killed him in an alleyway somewhere near here?

That mere thought made her shiver. Thinking of John as nothing more than a lifeless corpse stirred up an overwhelming feeling in her CPU. Never would she want to see him like that.

No. John was not dead. He was alive and she won't stop until she finds him and make sure that he is safe. She could've called Alex for help, but she really doesn't trust anyone when it comes to John's safety, not even Alex. No one can protect him the way she can. She doesn't just want him to be safe, she also wants him to be happy, to have some enjoyment in his life. Well, as happy one can get being John Connor.

After a while, her search led outside. At first, it was still dark, so she switched between multiple ranges of vision that allowed her to see her surroundings more clearly. At first, she had no luck at finding John at first. But she kept searching without any qualms of giving up. Luckily, she eventually found John sitting on a bench, under a lamp post.

At first, she kept her distance, silently studying him. His facial features appeared grim and full of sorrow. The tears that ran down his cheek were still visible.

John was heartbroken. Every attempt he had made to repair his relationship with Cameron had miserably failed. He pushed her away at first and now she is doing the same. If she were capable of feeling like how he did, then he knew how it must've felt to her. Every moment that he was ignoring her, berating her for every little thing.

He had hurt her. Not by bullets, or explosives, but with pure stupidity and emotion. She, in turn, had retaliated and did the same. He deserved it, every single moment of it.

"John?"

His thoughts were torn away upon hearing that voice. Almost as if he had assumed that his mind was just playing tricks on him. But that wasn't the case when he glanced in the direction from where those soft, full of concern, words came from. He attempted to suppress a sniffle and succeeded to no avail.

"What?" He inquired in a hoarse tone of voice.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

In a reserved fashion, John gazed away from her, His voice still breaking when he spoke. "I'm fine."

He couldn't just stare at her. First it was rude, and secondly, it hurt too much, as old memories came rushing into his mind.

 _How could he hurt someone who was so innocent, so kind and beautiful as her?_

Cameron joined him on the bench and sat close. She made sure to keep her hands away from him as she felt that he was in no mood for any kind of physical comfort. She and he found themselves staring out into the night sky, seeing the stars gleaming brightly.

"I'm sorry," Cameron softly told John.

"For what?" John asked surprised and confused at her sudden apology.

"For everything that has happened in the past two months. I have tried to kill you and I…" She looked at the still visible bruise that ran across John's face. "...I harmed you."

"If I'm being honest, I deserved it," John said pathetically. "And it wasn't you who tried to kill me. It was Skynet. You would never kill me. I know that."

Cameron smiled slightly after hearing his reply. She felt good? But her smile was gone immediately being replaced by worry and concern. "But John, why are you crying? Did you fight with Emily?" Cameron asked carefully because she wasn't that he wanted to talk about it.

"No," John sadly sighed.

She was confused now. Why was he crying then? "Then why are you sitting here all alone?"

"Because after coming to this stupid dance, I realized something. All my life I was trained by mom to survive, to run, because the machines kept on coming after me. I was tired of my shit life. I wanted a life, friends, some fun for once in my life. But I knew it was impossible for me. I even accepted it. Yet it was hard. I craved comfort, I wanted someone by my side. So, there was Emily to possibly fill that role. I thought that maybe she was the one." John stopped for a moment because his throat felt dry. "I was a fool to believe that she would understand me. I was stupid and never realized that what I was looking for was right in front of me." John finished.

"I don't understand?" Cameron inquired.

"Cam…. Don't you see? I went against my family, even my own mother for you. Derek told me that I chose you over my family. He was right, partially. I did choose you over them, but you are family too. I…. even shot Alex when she tried to take your chip by putting you into that bathtub," John explained.

"But why?" Cameron asked.

None of them realized that their faces were getting closer.

"Because I cannot do this without you. I need you. You are my only friend. You make my life a bit easier by just being here," John said softly looking into the depth of her brown eyes.

"Just a friend, John Connor?" Cameron whispered, their noses were almost touching.

"Not just a friend." Before both of them even realized it, their lips came crashing into each others. John's hands pulled her body flush against his and held her possessively. After a minute John pulled back reluctantly to take a breather. Cameron wanted to maintain the contact but John's arms went around her waist and he buried his face into the crook of her neck.

"I love you," John whispered into her neck. "I love you, Cam."

Cameron just held him as she felt his tears on her bare skin. She too felt moisture, but it came from her cheeks. She touched them and found herself to be crying too? She held John tightly, making sure not to break his spine, and tears flowed freely from both their eyes.

"I love you too, John," She whispered. "I always have."

 _ **Downtown Los Angeles: Zeira Corporation**_

The city was beautiful. But why? Was it the lights, the skyline that drew in your attention. She was used to this view, and yet it intrigued her. There was always something to see through the thin layer of glass. There was always a new story to be told by those who lived beyond it.

It was probably the anticipation that had her on edge. Any moment she expected Mr. Murch to be calling her down to the basement so that she may check on her little pet project. Her original plan was on halt for a while after something was found in that chip. A message was displayed and she wondered who had sent it. Plans did change, but not for long. After what is found, then it was time to use that to continue her mission.

 _*Knock, knock, knock, knock*_

Weaver turned to look at the doorway and bleakly smirked. "Hello, Mr. Ellison. What brings you here?"

"Uhh, Ms. Weaver. May I speak with you for a moment?" Ellison asked in anticipation.

"You may." Weaver acknowledged and indicated at a seat. She too sat down and the two stared at each other for a short moment before Ellison placed down a packet on the desk. "What is this?"

"All those machine sightings that I could find." Ellison eagerly explained. "Everything from 1983 to just last week."

"Oh. " Weaver mused and shuffled through each document encasing every _machine_ related news post or conspiracy out there. "Teenage girl hit by a family car."

"That one is most likely a case involving Sarah Connor's robots." Ellison chuckled. "There is also the Arnold Jackson case, and the beach one where the only thing that I could find was a piece of torn cloth. Not exactly sure what that can do for us."

"All of this is useless."

Ellison's smile turned to a frown and he looked at the blank staring woman in confusion. "What?"

"Everything here, we know already, James. Do you have an exact location on Sarah Connor or not?"

"Actually, I may have an idea," Ellison answered unsurely.

Weaver sat back in her seat and listened intently to Ellison. "Let me hear it then."

"After I checked the beach, I questioned a few individuals. Most of them mentioned a black Dodge Ram arriving and leaving the scene at both the pier and the clothing store. Whom they possibly described as a kid named Connor who is most likely John Connor was who left in the truck."

"Do you know where this truck is?" Weaver inquired curiously. Ellison nodded in response and continued.

"The vehicle hit a few obstacles when it left both scenes. I'm no expert but if my time in the FBI has taught me anything, it's that I know how to track down someone.

A few days ago, the truck was spotted at a high school. I checked into it and found a John Baum and Cameron Baum is attending that school. I eventually narrowed the trucks sightings down to a twelve-mile radius and I may have found where it is stashed."

"You found where John Connor lives?" Weaver asked in astonishment. Again, Ellison nodded and continued his explanation once more.

"I don't know for sure. I have been afraid to get to close because of his machines possibly guarding the property."

"How long have you known of this?" Weaver then asked.

"A few days," Ellison answered.

Weaver smirked slightly and stood. "Good. Give me the location so that I may speak with them myself."

Ellison was surprised to hear Ms. Weaver's eagerness to meet Sarah and John Connor. He wondered why she was content with them all of a sudden. "Ms. Weaver. I don't know about that. I followed Sarah Connor's case for a long time. She is a skittish one and will run if she so much as catches a whiff of you."

"I am very careful, James," Weaver said with boldness. "Now tell me. Where is she?"

He wasn't sure about suddenly revealing Sarah Connor's location to Catherine at all yet. Her intentions seemed fine, but what if she just had plans to rat her out on the authorities? There was no telling what she would do when he told her. Sarah wasn't crazy like he originally assumed. She was right all along. He started to believe her the day he found that hand on the side of the road. When his partner was brutally murdered by one of these things right in front of him.

"Okay, fine," Ellison sighed heavily. "She's-"

"Ms. Weaver!"

Both James Ellison and Catherine Weaver were interrupted from their conversation when Mr. Murch came running into her office, with a horrified look on his face.

"Yes, Mr. Murch?" Weaver asked calmly. "I and Mr. Ellison are having an important conversation. Can't it wait?"

"The chip is talking!" Murch blurted out.

Weaver was shocked while Ellison was insanely confused. "Chip? What chip?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ellison, this is a private matter which is none of your concern," Weaver acknowledged the man. She stood up and made her way to the doorway, where Mr. Murch led her to the elevator. Ellison too followed but was stopped by Weaver. "Take the rest of the night off, James."

Weaver pressed the basement floor button and waited as the doors closed. However, Ellison stopped the doors from closing with his foot. "Not until you tell me what is going on!" Ellison hissed in anger.

"As I said. This is none of your concern," Weave deadpanned. "Now step away, James."

"Okay fine," Ellison sighed and let his foot from the elevator door. "I guess you don't want to know Sarah Connor's location."

Weaver's attention was immediately caught. She stopped the door from closing herself and glared at Ellison. "Are you blackmailing me?"

"I work here, Catherine. I think I deserve to know what is going on."

Weaver glanced at Mr. Murch, who was still ancy, and then back at Ellison once more. "Fine. Come then."

Ellison stepped foot inside the elevator and the three rode it down, all the way to the basement floor. Every possible outcome ran through the former agent's mind. Was there something extremely illegal going on beneath his nose? Was he walking into something completely insane, something that would warp the view he had on his boss?

Maybe he would never return from the basement? It was a stupid idea to think, but maybe she was going to murder him and chop him into tiny bits? Maybe the crazy cases he took in his long career as an agent had cooked up that ludicrous recipe in his mind.

Finally, the elevator reached its destination and the doors opened. The hall was dim, and the corridor was long. He followed Weaver and Mr. Murch down the hall until they made a right and up to a huge metal door. Murch typed in a passcode on the small panel next to the door before opening into another room that was almost as cold as his freezer at home.

 _What is this place?_ Ellison thought. The gigantic video monitors that covered each wall, the glass room that housed many computer servers racks. It was all so amazing, but so… strange.

"What is this place?" Ellison asked.

"It's where project Babylon was to be created," she answered simply.

"Babylon?" Ellison inquired. "What is that supposed to be?"

"A few months ago, I purchased a chess computer called the Turk. It's a highly advanced artificial intelligence for its kind, so I sought to use the tech to make it better."

"You're creating the very thing that ends the world and creates these killing machines?" Ellison stated both horrified and shocked.

Weaver shook her head and continued to explain. "No. This is designed to fight it. Fighting fire with fire essentially."

"I'm lost," Ellison huffed in defeat. "How do you even know you're not creating it without the knowledge it could probably become just that?"

"Miss Weaver we must…." Mr. Murch interrupted.

"Hold on, Mr. Murch," Weaver said to the man and focused her attention back to Ellison. "James, I planned on telling you this later, when work has… progressed farther into its development. But right now, we have hit a speed bump."

"Speed bump?" Ellison asked.

"I had a chip. One of... Unknown origin, let's just say. It's these machine's brain essentially. We hoped to use it to speed up progress but we found something. Someone still active in it."

Catherine finished talking and finally gazed at Mr. Murch. "Will you show me what is happening?" She asked kindly.

He simply nodded and started rapidly typing on the computer console. When he was finished, all that appeared on the monitors was a blue hue, and a loud scream, followed by strange, inaudible mumblings. Everyone, including Weaver, looked around them in shock at what they were hearing. Ellison himself was sure that a banshee was present on this terminator chip of Weaver's.

A voice was suddenly around the room, a female voice, full of concern.

" _John? You there? John! Please talk to me!"_

"What the hell?" Ellison was beyond speechless.

"Mr. Murch, can we speak with it?" Weaver asked the man. He nodded in response and scrambled for a microphone and placed it on the table. Catherine was the first to ask the mysterious entity a question.

"Who is John?"

" _John Connor!"_ The voice replied with loud. Uncontrollable anger. _"Where is he?!"_ it then asked with frantic worry.

"Why are you looking for John Connor? What is your intention? Do you want to kill him?" Weaver asked calmly.

" _Kill him?"_ The entity mused. _"No."_

"Wait, hold on a second," Ellison halted Weaver from continuing to press the entity with questions. "Do you have a name?"

" _Yes,"_ It answered timidly.

"Do you mind telling us what your name is?" The mysterious entity seemed to stop talking out of fear. Ellison sought a different approach to this. "My name is James Ellison. Now it's your turn. "

" _Where's John!?"_

"Please tell us your name! Then maybe we can help you find him." Ellison told the entity. Luckily it seemed to somewhat calm down and spoke again.

" _My model name is TOK-715. Cameron is my given name."_

That name surely sounded oddly familiar. "Okay, _Cameron_. Why are you here?"

" _I don't understand the question!"_ Cameron spat with anger. The entire room monitors flashed red before turning back normal. What he said angered Cameron.

"Why are you looking for him?" Ellison asked.

" _I am supposed to protect him. He's my mission."_

"John already has a machine protecting him. He's safe as far as I know," Ellison told Cameron. He half expected her to be calm, but that proved false when the screens in the room turned red again.

" _Who is protecting him!? Who!?"_

"Some other machine. One with blue eyes and blackish hair I think."

The entire room remained red and Cameron screamed with a mixture of anger, sorrow and agony. The glass that protected the equipment shattered due to the loud, deafening scream, and Mr. Murch, along with Ellison had to cover their ears.

" _Who is she!?"_ Cameron demanded loudly.

"Alex is pretty unique if you ask me."

Catherine Weaver, James Ellison, and Mr. Murch looked behind them only to find a certain individual standing in the doorway, with an evil smile on her face.

"Ms. Azadian," Weaver stated with disgust.

"It's good to see you again, Catherine," Keran chuckled. "I didn't think we'd be speaking again this soon."

"Who are you?" Ellison demanded the woman.

Keran only glared at Ellison and studied him from head to toe. "You're quite the man, James Ellison. I've heard so much about you."

"Me?" Ellison inquired with him slightly blushing. She had a charm about her that he couldn't quite put his finger on, but he had a strange feeling in his gut about this woman. One that churned and didn't allow him to fall for her looks.

"I always liked you, James. How about you leave before it gets real nasty in here," Keran strongly recommended.

Ellison stood his ground and stepped towards Keran. "And what if I say no?"

Keran drew a gun from her jacket and aimed at the former agent's forehead, making sure to pull the hammer back to further empathize her point. "Or I get to play with your brains like playdough, silly."

Weaver placed her hand on Ellison's shoulders and pulled him back from Keran's line of fire. "James. Take the rest of the night off. I'll call you tomorrow morning," she said sadly. She also looked behind her and motioned for Mr. Murch to leave as well. They both reluctantly accepted and left the room immediately.

That left Keran and Weaver alone in the same room with Cameron.

Keran put away her gun and she freely walked around the room, looking at all the video monitors. "My, my, my, plans have changed, Catherine. I was hoping to have this conversation in a few months, not a few days."

"What do you want?" Weaver demanded.

"I'll let my employer tell you himself." Keran pulled out a radio and spoke into it. A few minutes later, over a dozen armed soldiers came rushing in, followed by a man dressed neatly in a tan business suit.

"Hello Catherine Weaver," the man said. "My name is Adam White. I am a fan."

"A fan of what?" Weaver asked.

"Many things," Mr. White simply said. "Your knowledge, your skills. What you are."

"What are you doing here?" Weaver asked blankly.

"Last month, a man by the name of Sarkissian sold you a chess computer called the Turk. I'm sure you're well aware of that."

Weaver gritted her teeth in response. "I am."

"Good," Mr. White mused in satisfaction. "And I assume you used it to create your own artificial intelligence, right?"

"Things have come up," Weaver explained. "We've used the Turk's resources for another project."

"You what?" Mr. White inquired with a hint of anger in his voice. "You what!?" He repeated, this time, a little louder.

In response, Weaver's arm turned into a silvery mass and the tip of her hand turned into a sharp blade. It didn't seem to faze Mr. White, however. He only laughed and turned away from Weaver.

"It's good to see that you still have that fire in you, Catherine."

"You speak to me like we've met before," Weaver pointed out with confusion.

"It would just confuse you even more if I tried to explain it," Mr. White settled for saying. With a simple nod, every man aimed their weapons at Catherine.

"If you know what I am, then surely you know that won't work."

"I know." Mr. White chuckled. "That's why you're gonna try to kill me and everyone in this room."

Weaver didn't answer. The way this man spoke. The way he carried himself. It was almost as if he knew what was gonna happen in the next few minutes. Like he knew she was gonna kill him and all of his men to be rid of their games. She wasn't going to take this ridicule. She wasn't going to let this man get into her head. She was a killer. A good one at that. A machine that was beyond difficult to terminate. Weaver immediately ran up to Mr. White and slashed at his back.

But before she could even process another thought, she found herself pinned against the wall, and Mr. White holding her by the neck.

"I was honestly expecting you to save me for last."

She wasn't sure what to think. How in one moment she was about to terminate this man, and in the next, she had been overpowered.

"Who are you?" Weaver asked loudly.

"I'm not to be trifled with, Catherine. You made a big mistake in attacking me. Now you better have something that is worth my time or I may just pay a little visit to Savannah."

I have nothing!" Weaver hissed.

" _What is going on?"_ Cameron frantically asked over the video monitor.

Mr. White looked around the room in amazement. A smile crept on his face and he released his grip on Weaver's throat. She fell to the ground and looked up at the man with hatred. He then turned to his men and spoke. "Set the charges along every support beam in this structure. I want this place to be rubble by the time I leave here today."

Weaver watched in horror as every man had left the room, while some stayed and began setting C4 charges along the walls. "What are you doing?"

"I told you. Give me something worthwhile and you lied to me. Now I'm gonna have Keran talk to Savannah. Maybe then you will straighten out, Catherine."

In a fit of rage, Weaver bolted onto her feet once more and lashed out at the man. She slashed and diced as much as she could until she found herself flying into another wall. She attempted to stand up again but found that she couldn't move. She looked at her chest and found a needle protruding.

"You didn't think Skynet would just create something like you without having a solution to stop you, did you?" Mr. White snickered.

"What… what did you do… to me?"

He knelt down next to Weaver and pulled out the needle. "I injected you with nanites that are attacking your own. You won't be able to move for quite a while, I'm afraid."

Mr. White glanced over at Keran and motioned his head at the computer server rack. "Take everything we can use."

"Yes sir," Keran obediently complied and started to unplug the wires from the Turk, and took the chip from its port. She handed the piece of tech to one of the men who placed it in a bag.

Keran herself gave the chip to her employer whom had taken it and examined it with great interest. "I may have some use for this after all."

"Sir, we are clear to leave the premises now," one of the soldiers mentioned. Mr. White acknowledged his soldier's suggestion and took one last glance at Weaver before standing up and heading to the doorway.

"I'm sorry, Catherine, but Savannah will have to suffer out of your own sheer stupidity. Goodbye."

All Weaver could do was watch as everyone left the building with all the equipment in their possession. She couldn't move no matter how hard she tried. It felt impossible.

Meanwhile outside, every car was loaded up, and they drove away from Zeira Corp. All that could be seen from the busy streets, was the tall standing structure burst into flames and eventually collapse on itself. The screams and the voices of panic and fear filled downtown Los Angeles as fire and smoke were all that could be seen.

•••

 **Author's Note: I hope this was a good chapter! I thought it was certainly interesting that's for sure. Now that we have full Jameron, let's see where that takes us!**

 **I apologize for the lack of updates last month. There has been a lot of things I have been going through so I took a small break from writing so that I could sort things out.**

 **Next Chapter we will have to see where this journey leads our characters. The new challenges they may face now that it's not just a simple machine that is their main threat.**

 **Reviews and constructive criticism is gladly appreciated and I look forward to your thoughts on events in this chapter!**


	26. Chapter 26

**Terminator: No Fate But What We Make**

 **Chapter 26**

 _ **Los Angeles, California, December 15. 2007: Weaver Residence**_

From the outside, the house was still lit up. From anyone else's perspective, the property was beautiful, vibrant, and modern. Only a single nanny walked about, talking on the phone. She failed to see the nearby bushes rustle and continued conversing with whoever was on the other line.

"Yes... I understand... No, she's asleep right now... I'll find a way to tell her as soon as she wakes up… I know, thank you for calling… Goodbye."

With frustration, the Nanny hung up the phone. This was great. Now how was she going to tell her boss's daughter that her mother was dead? How would an eight-year-old deal with her two parents being killed as well as the business she would inherit one day, be burnt to the ground?

 _That poor child…_

Again, she'd have to make her rounds about the house. If Catherine Weaver was dead then it was probably best for Savannah's safety that she make sure everything was locked up and secure. It was of utmost importance that she keep her safe until morning.

The causes may still be unknown, but it was Catherine Weaver's wish that she take good care of Savannah. Still, it was going to be hard to explain to the adorable little girl that her mother wasn't coming home. That she was killed earlier tonight. What kind of world is this? A world that made such an innocent soul become so alone.

 _*CRASH!*_

In fright, she jumped on her heels and jolted towards the direction that the sound had come from. What was that? Was it an intruder lurking about? Someone that had intentions of harming young Savannah and even possibly her? No, she needs to make sure that they stay safe. She grabbed a nearby knife from the counter and started slowly creeping into the foyer.

She hated fearing the worst. More so, she hated the worst coming true. It was highly likely that an intruder was in the house with her and Savannah. This wasn't good. The best thing to do would be to run, find Savannah, and hide until the authorities arrived. The alarm would've had surely gone off if someone had in fact broken in.

Once in the foyer, she immediately pointed the knife at the door, only to see that it was still closed. Right next to the door, there was a potted plant that had fallen off its stand and was now shattered on the floor.

That was just great. First, the owner of this house was now sitting under a pile of rubble and now her favorite vase was now a million small pieces.

It was still a relief though. If the vase just fell, then surely there was no danger. Just a stupid wobbly stand that probably shifted when the A/C kicked on.

"Debby? What's going on?"

She looked behind her, and at the stairwell where the cute, little redhead was standing, rubbing her eyes. The sound must have spooked her. The poor girl was gonna go through enough in the morning. Now sounds were going to keep her up all night?

"Don't worry, Honey. It was just ol' clumsy Debby. Go back to bed, okay?"

"Okay," Savannah yawned. She turned around and started making her way back up the stairs. However, she stopped when a large shadow crossed her peripheral vision.

Debby knelt down and started shoveling the pieces of glass into a small pile. But her light source was immediately cut off when someone hovered above her. "Savannah, please go to bed-"

Her request was cut short when a dark, mysterious figure grabbed her by her scalp and pulled her onto her feet. Her screams of agony, mixed with Savannah's screams of terror, as she ran away, were all that filled the house.

"P-p-p-please don't do this!" Debby pleaded. The mysterious figure completely ignored her begging and tossed her as if she were a rag doll.

With an impact so great, Debby hit her head on the concrete wall, and a loud crack was heard before she slowly slid down, a streak of blood following her as she lay dead, with her eyes staring out into nothingness.

The figure's eyes glowed red, and he turned towards the stairwell. He pulled a single handgun from his coat pocket and checked if it was loaded.

Once satisfied, he slowly stalked his way up the stairs and down the long, dark hallway until he came up to a single door that had a pink and purple palette. He kicked down the door with one fluid motion and walked inside.

Although dark, he saw everything. But what he saw was nothing. He checked the bed and closet, only to find no trace of Savannah Weaver. He turned on his heels and walked out of the room where he found another room, across the hall, to be open. He slowly opened the door and walked inside, but saw nothing.

That was until a man came bolting out of the shadows, and tackling him to the ground.

"Run!" He shouted.

Both Savannah, and a woman leading her, came out from hiding under the bed and jumped over the two men before running away, down the hall.

Landing punch after punch, he hoped to get the drop on the other but succeeded to no avail as he was thrown off and into the bookcase behind him.

Immediately he stood back onto his feet and continued to attack the other man, by ramming him into the wall again and again until throwing him over the bed. With him out of the way, he could continue his mission. He reached down for his dropped weapon and resumed his pursuit of Savannah Weaver and her new saviour.

Outside, the woman ran with Savannah holding her hand tightly. She made a break for the garage but found there to be a problem when she found the door to be locked. "Dammit!"

She ran around the building, hoping to find a window, but was unsuccessful. There was no getting a ride out of here. At least one that could put some distance between them and the hitman.

Gunshots erupted from over her head, forcing her to take immediate cover, and putting Savannah in front of her as a last resort to protect the little girl from any incoming fire. She hastily started dodging as much as she could and her and Savannah went around the garage once more before running back into the house.

She closed the door and began barricading the doors with the sofas and television. But that proved fruitless when more gunshots shattered the glass.

Again, she was forced to take Savannah elsewhere. She and the woman fled upstairs and down the hall. Each room she attempted to look for an escape route. But there was none. With the assailant fast approaching, there wasn't enough time. They both continued to run with dear life until they both made it onto the second story balcony.

She looked over the horizon, hoping that there would be a bush to land in. Sadly that was not the case, as a steep drop down the hill would probably kill any normal person.

They were trapped. There was no escaping the hulking man that stalked towards them, preparing to end both of them. Savannah tightly hugged the woman's thigh, with tears pouring out of her eyes. The woman gripped her tightly and hushed lullabies into her ear as the man approached much closer. It was an attempt to calm the poor soul before being brutally murdered by what this man was.

With the cut on his face and his sheer strength. She knew what he was. But that didn't matter now.

"Stay away from them you son of a bitch!"

The man stopped and looked behind him, only seeing the stranger from earlier bolting at him with great speeds, until he was tackled again, and was sent flying over the railing and tumbling down the steep hill.

The two ladies who had jumped out of the way were relieved. "It's about time you showed up, love!"

"Sorry," The man sighed heavily. "It's hard to find you when you're leading the machine on a wild goose chase."

"Well, that wasn't the plan," The woman chuckled. She helped Savannah back onto her feet and dusted the little girl off, and giving her a full smile. "Hey. Are you okay?"

Savannah responded by tightly hugging the woman around the neck, in which she returned the embrace.

"Shhhh, it's okay. Let's get you out of here before the bad man comes back."

"Okay," Savannah replied meekly.

The woman gave the man a simple nod before the two fled the scene with Savannah in their presence. Soon after, three police cruisers came speeding down the road and into the Weaver property where everything was as it was left.

 _ **Los Angeles, California, December 16, 2007: Connor Safehouse**_

The sun was especially bright this morning, and the birds chirped loudly. All inside the Connor residence, there wasn't a peep, a sound to be made. All except Derek Reese who came in from a short run to the Grocery store on Sarah's request.

As the future soldier entered the house, he closed the door and set the keys in the basket. As he made his way into the kitchen, he stopped right behind the couch and stared at Cameron for a long moment. She sat neatly, with her back straightened in a posture no human in their right minds would have. What made him grimace, was the fact that his nephew was practically drooling on her lap.

He shook his head in disgust and went into the kitchen where he set the bags on the counter, in front of Sarah Connor.

"Thank you, Derek," Sarah acknowledged, not looking away from her notebook

"Your son is still pretty cozy with the machine, Sarah," Derek explained in disgust. "How do you even feel about that?"

"Well they came home safely last night so what am I to complain?" Sarah shrugged. "Besides, John's wasn't that tired so they watched a movie. That's probably what happened. Tin Miss is just too sweet to him to even move for his sake probably."

"I still hate it," Derek grumbled.

"Morning, guys," Alex waved as she entered the kitchen.

"Guess you aren't taking those sleeping in days for granted, huh?" Sarah chuckled as she observed the messy brunette join her and Derek in the kitchen.

Immediately, Alex made a beeline for the fridge and grabbed the milk, before grabbing a bowl and spoon from the cabinets. She was shocked to see Sarah grab the milk herself and put it back. "Hey! What was that for?"

"You're not eating that garbage today, Tin Head. I'm going to make us all a decent breakfast for once since you all clearly hate my pancakes."

"Wait, who said I hate your pancakes?" Alex inquired. In response, Derek rose his hand and had a full grin on his face. "You asshole, I told you not to say anything!"

"Okay, _Miss Rat Phobia_ ," Derek snickered and walked out of the kitchen.

Alex flipped the hardened soldier off as he left and sighed heavily. "Ugh! That is so the last time I drink and tell with him!"

"Shut up and help me cook all of this," Sarah chuckled. Alex reluctantly did so and washed her hands before grabbing the eggs out of the bags as well as the packet of bacon.

As the two began their little cooking spree in the kitchen, meanwhile in the living room, John slowly opened his eyes. He looked around the room and found himself staring at the turned off television. Last night he must have fallen asleep on the couch. That was rare, even for him.

 _That was a strange dream. If only it were real._

John shifted on the sofa, expecting to stare at the ceiling. Instead, he was greeted with the beautiful cyborg staring down at him with a smirk appearing on her face.

 _Holy shit, It was real._

"Good Morning, John," Cameron greeted in a blank tone.

He couldn't help but smile. He was relieved, really. Despite everything last night taking the worst turns possible, it ended the best night he's had in a long time. Emily wasn't in the best mood when they took her home. She rode in the front with Alex until they arrived at her home. They gave her an awkward goodbye and left for home themselves. Everything after that was reasonably relaxing. He and Cameron sat and watched a movie together until he fell asleep he guess by where he currently was.

With the sounds of bacon sizzling in the kitchen, he realized that everyone was already up too. John immediately sat up and looked around the room, making sure his mother, Derek, or even Alex weren't watching him.

"John are you okay?" Cameron asked with concern.

"Yeah. It's just… did mom and or Derek see us?"

Cameron shook her head. "They asked me why you were sleeping on me. I told them we were watching movies which wasn't a lie. We are okay, John. Don't worry."

That smile was enough to make his heart melt again. He just wanted to kiss her but with everyone about the house right now, it would surely be risky.

That question did cross his mind many times. Every day, since he started developing feelings for her. What would his mother think? The woman who raised him as a fighter. The one who raised him to hate and fear what Cameron was. She definitely wouldn't be throwing a celebration for them if she found out. Derek for that matter would probably die of a heart attack or attempt to kill Cameron himself. And Alex already technically knew what his feelings were. Although not at first, she would be the first to accept them being together.

"Cameron, we need to keep us a secret, okay?" John said in a whisper.

"Why?" Cameron tilted her head to the side. A trait he hadn't seen in weeks that he dearly missed.

"You know how mom and Derek would react, right?" John then mentioned.

Cameron pondered on the question for a moment before she came up with the answer. "They would freak out."

"Exactly," John nodded in satisfaction. Again, those simple character traits he loved so much about her were becoming more frequent in her again. He was happy that she was being herself around him. Even if that personality was sometimes more of a naive terminator girl.

Now that he smelt the bacon beginning to cook, John jumped up and went straight for the kitchen, with Cameron following closely behind.

Once in the kitchen, he was greeted with his mother and Alex giving both him and Cameron a smile. "So, how'd you sleep?" his mother asked.

John had to suppress the urge to blush, and looked at the two with a careless look. "Actually not well. I kind of got a crick in my neck now."

"I can help!"

Both Sarah and Alex were very surprised to see Cameron immediately start massaging John's neck. He, in turn, was also shocked, but found it surprisingly comfortable. He expected her grip to be strong and break his neck in the process but no it felt nice. Actually, it felt more than nice. Her hands worked magic on his neck.

"Mmmmm." John murmured closing his eyes.

Cameron was massaging his neck from behind him. She was happy at last, because of John. But he had hurt her a lot. Those memories still bring tears to her eyes. She looked down at John who had his eyes closed from her ministrations. She doesn't want to hurt John but maybe she could make him pay in another way? By embarrassing him in front of his mother?

A mischievous smile appeared on her face and she shifted her position from behind to face him. John opened his eyes when her hands disappeared from his neck. At that moment Cameron bent down right in front of his face to massage his neck giving him a clear view of her cleavage. John's face turned red like a tomato. He wanted to turn his face around like a gentleman. But he couldn't help but stare at Cameron's breasts with open mouth. Cameron's brown eyes were dancing with mischief.

She whispered in his ears, low enough so not to let anyone else hear her words, "Like what you see, John?"

At that moment John felt like he will die of embarrassment. Then he saw her face and smile. His jaw dropped.

" _Is she getting back at me?"_ John thought.

Cameron winked at him and stepped away.

" _Yes. Definitely. Oh, Jesus, she is going to kill me."_

Both Alex and Sarah just stared for a while, then looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

After being weirded out, Sarah looked down at the cut potatoes and chuckled to herself. "Well how about you both get out of those party clothes and get into something more house worthy. I'll call you down when breakfast is done."

"Alright. Thank you, mom."

With that said, John and Cameron immediately went upstairs with the two women still suspiciously eyeing them.

"Those two sure are acting strange, aren't they?" Sarah asked Alex.

Alex just shrugged and stared at the staircase. "Don't they always act strange?"

"Tin Miss, always. But John, he never really acts like that," Sarah explained.

"Well I guess it's just the Christmas spirit, then," Alex purposed.

"Maybe," Sarah mused. That holiday was fast approaching. As a child, she remembered always celebrating it. She was only a teenager when that cherished day was taken from her. Machines took everything from her, including her own parents. John never got to properly have a chance to celebrate such an event yet. "Maybe this time I can give John an actual Christmas this year."

"Wait, you actually want to celebrate Christmas?" Alex replied unsurely.

Sarah shrugged. "We won't forget our duties, but maybe we all need a break and just enjoy the small things in life. Haven't you ever celebrated Christmas?"

Alex's eyes dropped down to the bowl of eggs she was whisking. "I was born after Judgement Day, Sarah. I never got to celebrate much of anything."

In sadness, Sarah placed her hand on Alex's shoulder and bleakly smiled. "Well then maybe we can give you a proper Christmas as well."

Alex returned the smile and went back to whisking the eggs. "Thank you, Sarah."

"Don't mention it, Tin Head."

•••

Meanwhile upstairs, John closed his dresser drawer and put his T-shirt over his head. He was relieved to get out of that suit. Nothing beat a simple pair of shorts and a T-shirt; in his mind at least.

Finally, things seemed to be going right. He got the girl and now he was the happiest he could be right now. There was no school, there were no worries of fucking up anything anymore. For the first time, he felt confident.

"Hello, John. May I come in?"

In the nick of time, that voice made him smile. "Sure."

Cameron came walking in John's room, making sure to close the door behind her. John noticed that she was dressed relatively the same to him. She wore a T-shirt like himself, and she had on a denim short skirt on.

However, his thoughts went elsewhere when Cameron unexpectedly went up to John and immediately, their lips locked for a good minute before releasing so that John may take a breath.

The only time he saw her smile was right after a kiss. "I like kissing you, John."

"I like kissing you too," John said and gave her a peck on the lips once again before making his way to his desk. He took a seat in his chair and Cameron stood next to him as he grabbed something from a hiding place behind his laptop.

"You still have the chip," She stated.

"I have looked at this thing quite a bit and have learned a lot about the T-950."

"Like?" Cameron inquired.

"She had an alias like how we saw on the news," John continued. "Her name is Veronica Palmer. Guess eight years waiting for us, she had to blend in during the meantime, huh?"

"We are built to integrate into human society quite easily until the mission requires it," Cameron blankly stated.

"Well, surely she has had a lot of interactions during that time. Murdered arms dealers, many small legal and illegal jobs. Even a poor fool was attracted to her. It's like she was a real person." John regretted that, the moment it left his mouth, as he saw Cameron's expression sadden. " _Her_ , Cam, not you. You're different."

Cameron's features seemed to perk up as a smirk appeared on her face. "Thank you for explaining."

"I think I am on the right path in breaking through her mission log. I just have a hard time reading these." Cameron watched as he pulled out a slip of paper that had some strange markings hand drawn. "I've seen these before in Vick's chip as well as yours. Do you know what they mean?"

Cameron took the slip of paper from John and carefully studied each marking. After a moment she grabbed a nearby pen and started jotting down words onto the slip of paper before handing it back to him. "Here you go."

John gratefully took the paper and looked at it. There was a key written in Cameron's slightly sloppy, yet neat handwriting.

The first marking meant _"Mission Parameters."_ The other two stood for assessed threat levels, both high and low. Another was categorized into contingency planning. The last one was put into relationships with said person.

John took the slip of paper and put it back into his desk. He then stood up and wrapped his arms around the petite cyborg and kissed her on the lips. "Thank you, Cam."

"Later we can work on the chip together. I want to be sure that she won't attack you."

 _Wow,_ John thought to himself. She was sure something. They went from being friends to avoiding each other. Now they were together and she was willing to help him reprogram his first terminator. He was nervous, but with her at his side, showing him how to do it. He had confidence in himself.

Their small moment was put on hold when Cameron's body went stiff and she immediately went full alert like a guard dog. "What is it?"

"Smoke is coming from the kitchen," She replied blankly.

The both of them both bolted downstairs where they were immediately met with smoke filling every inch of the entire house. From what he could see, his mother, Derek, and Alex were desperately opening every window that they could while coughing from the irritation caused by the smoke.

That prompted them to start doing the same. Soon every window and door in the house was open and the ceiling fans were on full blast.

"I told you not to use oil for the bacon, Sarah!" Alex snapped at the woman.

"Give me that tone next time, Tin Head, and I'll cut that tongue out of your mouth so you can't speak at all!" Sarah spat.

"Will the both of you shut the fuck up!?" Derek inquired with annoyance. "Just be grateful we didn't burn the whole damn house down!"

Both giving each other long piercing glares, the two hesitantly agreed and started the wiping down the counter. As everyone began to clean up, another unexpected guest in the form of their pregnant neighbor: Kacy showed up with another man at her side.

"We saw the smoke, are you all okay?" She asked in concern.

"Yes, Kacy. Thank you for checking up on us. Just a breakfast mishap," Sarah smiled at the woman. The man, however, she hadn't seen or even met before. "Who's this?"

"This is Trevor. He's my boyfriend," She introduced." Trevor, these are the Baums. The ones I've told you about."

Trevor gave everyone a firm handshake and looked at the group of people who stood before him with suspicion. "You all seem familiar."

"Familiar?" Sarah inquired with a nervous smile. "What do you mean?"

"Trevor is a cop. Don't worry, he always rambles on how everyone seems familiar to him. Right, Trevor?"

"It's just cop humor," He chuckled. "You all seem like nice folks. You've done a lot for Kacy already, so if you all need something, don't be afraid to let me know."

"Thank you, Trevor. And thank you both for checking up on us. I appreciate your concern for my family." Both Kacy and Trevor nodded in acknowledgment and soon bid farewell.

The whole house was soon aired out and everyone closed the doors and windows. Back in the kitchen, everyone just stared at the assailant that started this entire mess. Four black charcoal looking strips.

"You think it's still edible?" Sarah asked.

"No," Cameron simply shook her head.

"Guess having a _real_ _breakfast_ is a bust," Derek mumbled.

After barely hearing that side comment, Sarah jumped into action and made her way to the door. Everyone looked at each other in confusion as to what she had planned. "Sarah?"

"Get your shoes on, all of you. I heard there was a nice diner just a few blocks away," She explained as she threw on her coat and grabbed the SUV keys from the basket.

Again, everyone looked at each other with utter confusion before the woman in disbelief. She never liked going out unless it was to the grocery store or on reconnaissance missions for hunting down Skynet.

 _This day couldn't get much stranger, John thought._

•••

A diner. A place of laughter and enjoyment. A place where hanging out with friends and family was quite frequent. The environment was almost strange for John, considering he's only been inside one only once before this, despite his mother working at one, every new place that they called home. The food wasn't terrible, but then again having an American themed Diner in South America was bound to have some distasteful food. Especially when the term hamburger was actually thought to be made of ham.

The five all sat a booth, all staring at the menu. John wished that they had at least picked a table, but his mother was keen on having a quick exit and the tables were only located in the middle of the restaurant. Now he was practically being squeezed by Alex and Cameron, barely having any arm room or breathing room for that matter.

"Are you okay, John?" Cameron asked with a tilt of her head. "You seem uncomfortable."

 _Well, that's because I can't breathe, but yes, Cam. I am uncomfortable._ "No, I'm fine. Really."

She studied him for a long moment and eventually ran her finger across his neck. She, in turn, looked at Alex who was sitting near the booths exit. "Alex, will you grab a chair and sit at the end?"

"Why me?" Alex hissed at the young cyborg.

"Because you're cutting off John's ability to breathe," Cameron pointed out. She smirked as Alex threw a big fit but eventually got up and grabbed a chair from a nearby empty table and sat at the end of the table.

"Happy?" Alex asked sarcastically.

"Yes," Cameron simply said.

After browsing the menu for a few minutes, a waitress soon came walking up to their table with a happy smile on her face. "Good Morning, everyone. What may I get you all to drink?"

"Water," Sarah told the waitress. She quickly jotted that order down and looked at everyone with a full smile.

"Are you all ready to order?" She then asked.

"Yes," Sarah acknowledged. "I'll take the eggs and bacon. Can you also add hash browns to that?"

"We most certainly can, ma'am," the waitress nodded. "What else may I get you?"

"Uh, I'll be having the bacon and ham omelet," Alex then began her order. "But can you take out the mushrooms?"

"Okay, I got it!" The waitress informed. "What else?"

"What the hell are crepes?" Derek asked with confusion.

"They are like very thin pancakes topped with either fruit or chocolate," she explained.

"Yeah, no, just give me what she's having then," Derek pointed at Sarah.

The waitress took that into consideration and copied down the order twice. She then looked at John with her biting her lip. "And what may I get you?"

"I'll just take some eggs, over medium, and some sausage," John said sheepishly.

"Okay, good choice," the waitress said with a mischievous smile. Cameron saw the wink she gave John, although she was sure that nobody saw it. "What may I get you?" the waitress then asked Cameron.

"She's not hungry," Derek immediately mentioned.

"I'll have the chocolate chip crepes, but take out the bacon on the side," Cameron ordered. Derek, in turn, growled at the young cyborg but ultimately decided upon leaving it.

"Alright, I'll get this all out to you in a few minutes. Anything else I can get you?" The waitress asked, more specifically at John who gave him another wink.

"Do you have something in your eye?" Cameron inquired innocently.

"Excuse me?" The waitress asked with a nervous giggle.

"You keep winking at my brother. It's unprofessional in this work environment to be flirting with your customers, is it not?"

"I'm just going to go put these orders in," the waitress said with timidness and quickly walked away from the bunch. Everyone looked at Cameron with disbelief as she just sat there staring back at them.

"What?"

"Nothing," Everyone murmured and went back to fiddling with their thumbs.

"Damn, Cameron. I think little Miss flirty pants just wet herself!" Alex giggled. Everyone else couldn't help but break out in laughter, aside from Cameron who sat there with proudness.

John grabbed Cameron's hand and squeezed lightly under the table, then murmured for her ears only, "Thanks, Cam." She smiled in return.

While they all waited for their orders to be filled, they all conversed amongst each other. For the first time in forever, everything that they talked about, wasn't Skynet related. Sarah wanted to know what exactly happened at the dance last night, to which Alex told her about all the clingy kids that couldn't keep their hands off each other.

However, Sarah wasn't interested in Alex's night. She wanted to know more about her son's. "John, how did your night go?"

"Boring," John simply answered with a shrug. He knew his mother wouldn't take that as an answer so he came up with a more elaborate lie. "I just danced with Emily all night and we went home. That's all."

"Okay, I believe you," Sarah said as she rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me what you and your little girlfriend were up to."

Sarah didn't see it, but Cameron slightly flinched upon hearing Emily and girlfriend used in the same context.

"She's not my girlfriend, mom. She was just a friend," John groaned irritably.

Derek only chuckled in response. "Whatever you say, John."

After about thirty more minutes, all of their breakfast came served to them by the same waitress who kept glaring at Cameron the entire time. After handing everyone their water and food, she stormed away from the bunch, leaving them to their meals.

"This definitely looks better than your pancakes!" Alex rubbed her hands together in anticipation. She looked up at Sarah who only gave her a long piercing glare. "I mean because this is entirely different than pancakes, Sarah."

"Shut up, Tin Head," Sarah sneered in response.

"There is saliva in my water…," Cameron mentioned while looking into the glass.

"That bitch!" Sarah sighed in anger. "She's definitely not getting a tip!"

"Guess that girl has more balls than the typical soldier in the future if she spits in a metal's water," Derek mumbled and took a sip from his own glass.

"Derek…." Alex said to the hardened soldier.

"What, Alex?" Derek inquired.

"You did notice that Cameron switched your waters while you weren't looking, right?"

Derek abruptly slammed his water on the table and looked at the cyborg who was innocently sipping on the glass of water while staring at him. "You're so lucky I can't scrap you right now you sneaky terminator bitch!"

"Relax there, tiger, I'll go get you another one!" Alex said calmly. She stood up and made her way to the front where she talked to another employee before coming back and taking her seat. "See, I got the rude girl fired and we got a discount on all of our meals."

"Good job, Alex," Sarah applauded the hybrid. "Guess I should give you more credit."

Cameron heard everything Alex said. Yes, she felt possessive about John when the waitress was flirting with him. She wanted to embarrass her but never wanted to cost her, her own job. It wasn't her fault that she flirted with John. Cameron knew that John is very handsome and a gentleman. Girls liked him for his good looks. She scooted out from the booth and made her way to the front desk where an employee stood, waiting to seat other people.

"Excuse me, can I talk to the manager, please?" She asked politely.

"Of course, he is right there." The employee pointed her towards a middle-aged man wearing round glasses over his eyes. She looked around and saw the waitress packing her things and rubbing away her tears. Cameron really felt bad this time.

"Excuse me." She went straight to the manager.

"Yes?" The manager asked with a polite smile.

"Can you please not fire her?" Cameron indicated towards the waitress.

"Ma'am, we try to serve our customer as best we can. But what she did was of complete ignorance. That cannot be allowed here."

"No. She did nothing wrong. It was me. I was trying to prank on my uncle. She had nothing to do with this. She did her job perfectly," Cameron explained.

The manager looked surprised. "Are you sure ma'am?"

"I wouldn't be here otherwise," Cameron deadpanned.

The manager looked over at the young girl who was grabbing her coat and sighed heavily. "She has been one of my best employees for the past two years. I guess I was wrong to assume she would pull this all of a sudden. Thank you, Missy. I'll let her know she isn't fired. But I'll have another waiter serve you so we can avoid another conflict."

Cameron smiled in response. "Thank you."

As the manager walked away, she silently observed the two talk before the waitress wrapped her arms around the man and cried out in joy. Her job was done here. Cameron walked back to the table and scooted back into the booth.

"Where did you go off to, Tin Miss?" Sarah asked with curiosity.

"I had business to take care of," Cameron settled for saying and started to dig into her uneaten crepes.

Everyone continued their delicious meal with Derek occasionally staring at Cameron eat her own meal. He was disgusted at the mere sight of metal eating like a human. He only ever seen her take a bite out of Sarah's pancakes once, but never eat like she was now. If it weren't for the fact that his last meal was a bowl of Cocoa Puffs, he would be pushing his meal to the side.

After a few minutes, everyone was almost finished with their meals. They were all surprised to see the same waitress from earlier walk up to their table.

"I just want to say thank you," she started sheepishly.

"For getting you fired?" Alex inquired with a full mouth of food. "You're welcome, I guess."

"No, I was talking to you." Everyone was beyond shocked to see the waitress indicate towards Cameron. "My boss told me what you did, and I just wanted to say thank you for taking the blame. I don't know what I would do without this job."

"You spit in my daughter's drink," Sarah hissed.

"Yeah, I know. I'm truly sorry about that," she said sadly. "As an act of good faith, I went ahead and paid for your entire meal today. I just wanted to show that I'm grateful and sorry for what I did. I know it was way out of line and it won't happen again. I promise."

"Well thank you for that, Miss-"

"Jody," the girl said. "Anyway, I better get back to work. You all have a great day!"

As Jody left, everyone just stared at Cameron, , while John had a proud smile. "Okay, Tin Miss, if I check the bathroom, are we going to find a beaten manager in there?"

Cameron shook her head in response. "No. I talked to him and convinced him to give her job back."

"Wow…. I must say, I'm very impressed, Cameron," Sarah accepted with a grin. For the first time since she's known the Tin Miss, this was the first time she ever showed a real human trait. Was it compassion, or guilt? Maybe she was more than just a machine.

"Hey, buddy can you turn that up?"

Everyone's attention was caught when the manager took a television remote and turned up the nearby TV that had the news playing. But this wasn't just the local news, it was national.

" _ **Today we all take a moment of silence to remember all of the lives that were tragically lost last night in downtown Los Angeles, California.**_

 _ **At 11:44, multiple explosions occurred deep inside of tech firm, Zeira Corp. In an attack that is very similar to the World Trade Center, the structure collapsed on itself, thankfully containing the possibilities for further deaths of innocent lives. An estimated 364 people were tragically killed while over a dozen are still missing. Catherine Weaver, the CEO of the company is currently missing and is even suspected to be one of the many deceased.**_

 _ **The community is working hard with the National Guard to help in any way by aiding in the recovery of these dearly missed people so that they may return to their families."**_

"What the hell?" Sarah muttered.

" _ **As far as the FBI and Homeland Security know, this attack was caused by unknown terrorists who were possibly guilty for the death of Lachlan Weaver in early Spring, last year. The attack was most likely a personal affair as later that night, Ms. Weaver's home was broken into, the Nanny killed, and her daughter, Savannah Weaver, missing.**_

 _ **Please, if you have any helpful information, please contact your nearest law enforcement station so that we may find whoever caused this chaos and so that they may face justice for their crimes."**_

 _ **Los Angeles, California, December 16, 2007: Unknown Location**_

Everything was hectic right now. The media rambled on and on about Zeira Corp's destruction, even as going as far as to relate it to a major terrorist attack on the United States. That was the least of her concerns, however. The T-888 she sent to intercept and terminate the young Weaver, had failed its mission. Two mysterious people had gotten to her first.

But no, she wasn't worried about that right now. Emily sat on the living room sofa, while she paced back and forth. All of this was hard to endure. "With everything that is happening right now, Emily, you just pushed John Connor away!?"

"I saw how he looked at the TOK. Unless I killed him, he wouldn't have fallen for me. He loves the machine far too much."

"Look at the bigger picture you dumb bitch!" Keran spat in anger. Emily flinched but continued to listen. "Your mission was to cut the line that held them together. You failed that and not just put yourself in jeopardy of Mr. White, but myself too!"

Emily responded by angrily standing up, her blue and green eyes gazing into Keran's green eyes. "He told me that this would be a difficult process in which many have failed to push John Connor away from the TOK. I am not to blame."

"You're expendable!" Keran reminded. "Do you want to die? Because that's what is going to happen."

"Skynet has taught me that dying is for a much greater cause. I would rather choose not to die, but if that is my fate, then so be it."

As Emily was about to storm away, Keran tightly grabbed her by the arm and swung her back to her previous spot. "This is my operation!" she screamed. "You are going to go back to where John Connor lives and you are going to do everything in your power to fix what you've already fucked up! Do I make myself clear?"

"But-"

"Do I make myself clear!?" Keran repeated.

Emily hesitantly nodded in response, allowing Keran to free her grip from Emily's arm.

Emily marched back up to her room, and closed the door behind her, leaving her alone in the room with her T-800 bodyguard standing vigilant.

"Are we going to have any problems, Stone?" Keran asked.

"If Emily's mission is failed, then I will have no choice but to inform Adam White of this," the T-800 flatly mentioned.

"Her mission is not over. She still has a chance to fix everything. It's only a matter if I have your loyalty. Do I have that loyalty, Stone?"

"Yes," came the T-800's reply.

"Good," Keran smirked. She gazed out the window of the Los Angeles skyline, only seeing the large smoke cloud that dominated the entire county. "This game is getting more complicated. We are going to need more pieces on the table."

 _ **Los Angeles, California, December 16, 2007: Connor Safehouse**_

Sarah couldn't believe it.

 _Only time traveling eight years into the future and hearing of the Twin Tower attacks that took place on September 11, 2001. It was a hard concept to grasp but I accepted the truth. But barely six years later and it has happened once again? Maybe the world was really ending. Not by machines, like I had envisioned in my nightmares for years on end, but people. Evil had the capacity to take more forms than a terminator from the future._

The front door suddenly swung open, and everyone walked inside with Cameron closing the door behind her. None had spoken since returning from the diner. Now entering a quiet, and empty house, it finally got to everyone.

Sarah was the first to speak. "We need to leave the city while we still can."

"Mom, we didn't do anything. We don't need to go anywhere," John attempted at reassuring his mother.

"John, Sarah is right," Derek opinionatedly stated. "If the FBI or Homeland Security were to investigate and try to track the person responsible, down…. What I'm trying to say is that the authorities will recognize us."

"The weapons locker is only a few miles from downtown," Sarah mentioned. "We should clear it out before this gets heavy. We can't afford to lose those weapons or have them traced back to us."

"I and Cameron will go there later and find a more secure location to stash them until we can sort a new hiding spot," Alex purposed.

Sarah agreed and continued into the next stage of the plan. "John, pack an emergency bag, just in case we need to leave at a moment's notice." Sarah made sure to look at the other three in the room as soon as she finished speaking to her son. "Same to you three."

"Mom, what happened on the News is something we aren't involved with. They can't trace anything from what went down to us. We're safe." Sadly, he regretted uttering those last few words as his mother's face began turning red. He knew what the exact words were gonna be.

"No one is ever safe, John!" Sarah snapped. "You of all people should sure as hell know how true that is!"

"I'm going to go make sure that the weapons locker is secure until we can move everything." With that said. Derek grabbed the keys from Sarah and departed from inside the house and to the truck before driving away.

While his uncle left, all he could do is stare at his mother with his blood boiling. In sheer anger, John marched up to his room and slammed the door behind him.

Sarah sighed heavily. She didn't want to have to move again, but it was just too risky. Two agency bureaus were tracking down an unknown terrorist attack in the city. It would be only a matter of time until they stumble upon them. There was no stopping the threat of Judgement Day if they were behind bars, and Alex and Cameron being caught and used for research purposes.

A bath came to mind. It would help her relax for a moment and start planning exit strategies for when they were needed. With that mindset, Sarah walked into her room and closed the door behind her.

"So, what now?" Alex inquired.

"Relocation is safer," Cameron opinionatedly answered. "The entire city will be searching for whoever caused the destruction, downtown. We have explosives here and at the weapons locker. Although we didn't do anything, we could be indirectly involved."

"Then maybe it is safer to leave," Alex sadly agreed. Again, this home wasn't permanent and she knew that. But only living a month here? She thought it would at least be a little longer than that. "You know what, go talk to John. I'll get our bags ready."

Cameron accepted Alex's request and started ascending upstairs. Once she was gone, Alex fell onto the couch and turned on the television. The news media was still engulfed on reports about what occurred downtown. Mayhem swept the streets as those who wanted to see their loved ones safe and uninjured. With over three hundred people dead, that was probably going to hard on most.

Zeira Corp was a tech company, so what was the reason behind terrorists blowing it into smithereens? So many unanswered questions in such a short span of time. Cameron almost killing John, everyone fighting, Cameron going berserk and assuming she was Allison.

Now, this?

•••

John angrily threw clothes into his emergency traveling bag. He was angry, and he was confused. The news had scared his mother. The only time he's seen her this worried was when terminators were on their tails. But instead, it was something that they weren't involved with in any shape or form. But why the need to leave again? Just when they were still continuing their hunt for Skynet, now they were just gonna leave everything they've accomplished?

As he zipped up his bag, another unexpected though sprung into the forefront of his mind.

 _The chip!_

He scrambled for the hiding place underneath his desk and grabbed the concealed chip. If they were leaving then he either needed a working, non-homicidal machine clone of his cousin or to just burn her and move on. He decided to choose the latter. But under time restraints, he needed to act quick. He needed help.

"John, are you okay?"

Cameron walking into his room couldn't have been better timing. "Great, I need your help!"

She watched as he booted up his laptop and began plugging the necessary equipment in each port. "John, we need to talk."

"Hold on, I almost have everything ready!" He interrupted.

"John!"

Upon hearing the stern, but demanding tone, he stopped in his tracks and sat there, staring up at Cameron who rubbed her finger across his cheek. Feeling his pulse, his heartbeat was weak, and his sudden display of emotion was denial.

"You're sad," she pointed out calmly. "Why?"

 _This is just great. She knows how I already feel just by touching me._

"I… I just can't…" _Great, I can't even seem to explain without sounding like a mumbling idiot!_ "I just can't take the constant moving around, Cam."

"You're not safe here, John."

"Yeah, no one is ever safe, I get it!" John angrily exclaimed. "Mom reminds me every single day!"

"Now you are angry."

"I'm angry because I can't be normal for once in my life! I can never make friends, I can never get comfortable with anyone. Now I can't even have breakfast without being reminded who I am and that I must run away like I always do!"

As tears began to fall from John's eyes, she didn't like that. Cameron knelt down so that her eyes could face his, and took his hands into hers. "No matter where we go, we'll always have each other. I'm not going anywhere, John."

John sniffled. "I know. That's why you are the best thing that's happened to me." She smiled lovingly at him.

Cameron took the chip that sat on the desk and placed it into John's palm before closing with her own hand. "You still need to learn how to reprogram other terminators. I can teach you how."

John took that as a sign of reassurance. Not for having to leave this place, but for everything. As she grabbed a nearby barstool, he only thought of how amazing she is. Everyone thought that she was just a machine, but to him, she was much different, she was a person, she was the very girl he loves and admires.

He gathered her in his arms, bringing her close to his body. They both looked into each other's eyes and smiled. John leaned down and pressed a light kiss on her forehead. If his mother, Derek, or even Alex were to walk in on them, he feared he'd be dealing with another bathtub incident. He knew that Alex could take a bullet, or two, in the back, but not so sure of his mother and Uncle.

Well, he didn't care, not anymore. He loves Cameron, and he won't let her go even for his mother. John thought with Cameron in his arms.

A few minutes later the two began work on the T-950 chip and ultimately spent the entire afternoon working on it. They were close, if not almost done wiping the chip's memory and reprogramming it's mission parameters. He was finally learning how to do what his future self was known for doing. Taking Skynet's weapons, and turning them against their creator.

It would soon be a matter of time before they would have to test out if the memory scrubbing and reprogramming process worked. But if it didn't…. He wasn't sure what would happen after that.

After showing him how to access the mission logs, John had another question. There was something that was important that came to his mind. "So, where did you end up moving the body?"

"The attic."

"Okay, great, now we- wait what!?"

"I moved the T-950 into the attic," Cameron repeated monotonously.

John nodded in acceptance and stopped berating her with questions. "I didn't know we had an attic."

"Neither does Sarah, Derek Reese, or Alex," Cameron mentioned. She tilted her head in confusion when John began laughing uncontrollably. "What?"

"N-nothing, it's just I didn't know how sneaky you were."

"I'm an infiltrator, John," Cameron reminded. "I am designed to be… _sneaky_."

"Well we are almost done here, so what is the last step?"

Cameron took control of the laptop and began scrolling through the chip's contents. John watched as she showed him what was to be done. "Wiping the T-950's memory will make the reprogramming process more successful. The less that they remember about you, the better."

"So she's going to be a blank slate?" John asked.

Cameron shook her head in response. "Not exactly. We still retain specific knowledge that is in our base programming. That we can't take away without damaging the chip. She will, however, lack an identity. In time she will create one, but during that time, she will follow her mission parameters and learn how to blend in."

"How long does that typically take?" John then asked.

"It depends on how fast she can assimilate herself into the household and in public," Cameron continued.

"Okay, but will she still kill?" John then pressed. He didn't want to turn this thing on and it suddenly going homicidal on them as well as the residents. Cameron had difficulty fighting her the last time and she had his help. He didn't want to be responsible for any deaths because he wanted to learn how to reprogram machines, a tool for them to use. He didn't want to carry that burden.

"I'll keep a close eye on her." A smile crept on her face. She looked back at John and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I can teach her everything you've taught me."

He loved that smile. He loved that she was taking more responsibility for her actions. Saving that girl's job back at the diner surprised him and everyone else. Now she was going to take a naive terminator and teach it how to act in society.

Hopefully the only kill those who are connected to Skynet rule was the first one.

"So just click here and everything that this Terminator has learned will be erased."

John took the mouse from Cameron's dainty hands and did as she requested. They both observed as all video logs, of the past eight years, were just suddenly erased before their very eyes. The mission log was changed, and so was the memory being completely wiped clean.

He unplugged the chip from the port. "There we go… what now?"

"If we are going to do this, then we need to be smart," Cameron explained methodically. "You're new at this, and so am I. If anything goes wrong, I don't want you to get hurt again. Give me a few hours to make something."

As John watched get up and open the door, he had more questions. One that she didn't answer immediately. "Make what?"

"You'll see," was the reply before she left the room. John slumped back into his chair and took a deep breath. He needed to be patient. He wanted so bad to see if his newly acquired skills worked. But Cameron had a point, being safe was smart. The last time they both faced this machine, she almost killed the both of them. He still had a healing wound from almost being gutted by her.

He would wait patiently.

•••

As Derek Reese drove down the road, all that rang throughout his mind were the checkpoints that were set up over miles away from where Zeira Corp was demolished. If it weren't for his fake ID, he wasn't sure if he'd make it out of there without being thrown in the back of a squad car.

There was no way that they were moving all of those weapons without anyone else noticing. The authorities will surely stop them, even if they were to hide a majority of them in the hidden compartments of the truck. Sarah wasn't going to be too happy about this. Most of those weapons _can_ and possibly _will_ be traced back to them.

Sarah was right. They needed to get out of the city while they still can. Move and change identities again. But if so, then they were sacrificing the mission, the only way to prevent the future from becoming the desolate hell hole that he somehow survived in.

All of these thoughts ate away at him as he continued along the road. All they did was sit around and act like a normal family. They should have been onto something, some lead that would bring them one step closer into finding Skynet.

As Derek approached the house, he stopped a few houses down when he noticed a car parked right next to the driveway. Those thoughts were the least of his worries right now. He parked three houses down and grabbed his handgun from his coat pocket. Something didn't feel right. No one ever parked there. Not the neighbors, not the mailman. Hell, even the Pizza Delivery guy usually parks across the street after the whole incident involving the metal almost put a bullet between his eyes.

After checking the magazine in his gun, Derek exited the truck and began to cautiously make his way closer and closer to the car. Slowly he approached it and then aimed at the driver's window. There was no one present. With the gate being slightly ajar, he knew that they must've entered the property.

There were only two people who were foolish enough to enter the property. A Terminator or Pizza Delivery guy.

 _At least a machine can take a bullet to the face and still live to fight._

Derek entered through the gate and slowly, yet silently made his way up the gravel path. He used the nearby bushes to hide in as the front door became more clear from his point of view.

Two people were walking up the stairs. A man and a woman. He couldn't see their faces, but they didn't seem friendly by the way they were both resting their hands on their concealed firearms. They probably planned on ringing the doorbell, hoping that Sarah or John answers so they could put a bullet in them before being slaughtered by Alex and the machine.

Derek sprung up from his hiding spot just as the woman reached for the doorbell and took aim at the two. "I wouldn't do that if I were you! Put your hands where I can see them." He called out. They both heeded his warning and rose their hands in surrender.

The man was about to turn around, but Derek immediately ordered him to stop, in which he did. He then ordered that they keep their backs facing him as he approached closer.

"Sarah!" He then shouted at the top of his lungs. He patiently waited for the woman to bring some more firepower to help subdue their new guests. However, when the door opened, it was the machine that was present. She did have a gun at her side, so it wasn't all bad, he guessed.

He was more delighted to find Sarah, along with Alex come rushing to the front door, joining him and the metal. They were greeted with the strangers facing them, their hands risen and a guilty smile across both of their faces.

"Who are you?" Cameron inquired.

The man was the first to speak. "We're here to talk."

Derek cautiously walked up the stairs, while keeping his gun trained on the strangers. When he was on the porch, he relaxed when Sarah and Alex took away their arms and turned those on them.

"Then talk," Cameron demanded. For extra persuasion, she raised her gun at the man and pulled the hammer back.

"Okay, Cameron, calm down," Alex whispered. Both strangers appeared to be shocked at her quiet remark, as everyone witnessed their jaws drop to the floor. "Okay, what the hell are you doing?"

"You're Cameron?" The man asked, completely ignoring Alex's question.

"Yes. Do you know who I am?" Cameron asked in utter confusion.

The two suddenly sprung up to attention, their postures stiffening, and both saluted at the young cyborg. Again, confusion ran through her, as well as Sarah, Alex, and Derek.

"I am so confused," Alex muttered. She could tell who they were saluting at, but why? They should be questioning these two, but instead, they all felt like they just got struck with a brick.

"What the hell?!" Sarah asked in mock anger. "Why are you saluting her?"

"We are sorry, for not recognizing you ma'am." The unknown man addressed Cameron. Then he turned to Sarah and saluted her too. "You are Sarah Connor. The mother of the future."

"You didn't answer my question," Sarah pointed out angrily.

"We're with the Resistance. General John Connor sent us back." The woman explained. Derek was appalled when the woman spoke. Not because of what she said, but how she said it. Her voice, that accent. He needed to look her in the eyes.

Derek rounded the two newcomers until he faced them. Until he faced _her_. He couldn't believe his eyes. Who he was looking at. It couldn't be...

"Jesse?"

The woman, whose name was revealed, couldn't help but chuckle innocently. "Hello, love. It's good to see you again."


	27. Chapter 27

**Terminator: No Fate But What We Make**

 **Chapter 27**

 ** _Los Angeles, California, August 10, 2027: Location Unknown_**

He didn't understand it at first but now he did. Skynet had a mole within the Resistance. Someone to snoop in on their plans and act either against them or use them to their advantage. He wasn't sure who, but it had to be someone who was apart of his inner circle. Only they knew his strategic plans and base locations. He needed to find out who is the traitor as soon as he could.

But right now, there were more pressing matters to attend to. General Perry wanted to speak with him about something. He wasn't sure what, but it sounded urgent.

Right off the evac chopper, the General was the first off with the machine known as Cameron closely following behind him. There, all eyes glared at them which Cameron noticed.

"Why are they staring at us?"

He followed her eyes to where she was looking at. Every single one of his soldiers was judging him for having a machine close by his side. "I'm not sure. Let's just get to Perry."

Cameron silently agreed and continued to follow the man further down the hanger until they reached the underground barracks. The corridors were long and sharp with plenty of soldiers and refugees occupying most of the hall. When they reached the personal only area, the accommodations were better for where they were.

Finally, they reached General Perry's office and were about to enter. John was the first to walk through, but one of the guards immediately halted Cameron when she attempted to follow John inside. "No metal allowed!"

Cameron gave John a pleading look. Those eyes, that in their own way, begged him to say something to these troops. But protocol was protocol, and he couldn't bend the rule for her.

"Wait out here, Cameron. I won't be long."

That order seemed to ease her as she obeyed and stood just opposite the hall. Both guards kept their vigilant eyes on her while also tightly gripping their weapons.

Meanwhile inside, John was greeted with General Perry. The dim room made it hard to see, but at least Perry was in clear view, looking at the monitors of the base's cameras.

"John."

"Perry," John acknowledged.

"I think you know the reason for this discussion," Perry began.

"I have a general idea," John simply answered.

Perry finally turned around and motioned at the chair that was right next to him. "Then take a seat, General." John did so and sat next to Perry who also took his. "Given that Kansas Bunker was your relocation assignment for your entire Tech-Com personal, you can see that we are currently stuck in the mud. Someone told Skynet where our bases are located. Harlem bunker was just hit ten minutes ago and before that, the rest of Crystal Peak that was evacuating."

"How many got out of Crystal Peak?" John asked worryingly.

"Williams and Sargent Mathews got out, but I can't say the same for the rest of your men," Perry explained.

This was getting too chaotic. "Do we have any leads on who may have said anything to Skynet?"

"No," came Perry's reply. "But there are only a handful who know about Kansas and Harlem. The counsel…. and your machine."

"Cameron?" John inquired.

Perry simply nodded. "Yes… _Cameron_."

"I don't think it was her," John simply stated. "She would never do that."

"There you go again, John!" Perry snapped. "Cameron is a machine, the enemy which we are fighting every godforsaken day! Who else can it be? It can't be Amanda, it can't be Alex. Someone said something and I can only see the Tin Can, who looks like Allison, being responsible!"

John unexpectedly stood up and pointed his finger at the man. "Don't you ever bring Allison up again, Perry, or so help me God!" He spat.

Perry didn't flinch at John accusation and just glared at him intently. "People are losing faith in you, John. Your emotional attachment to machines is causing us to lose this war. Do you remember what happened the last time you had a machine on the council?"

"Skynet was using the reverter at the time, which we destroyed by the way."

"That doesn't mean jack shit, John! Machine or not, we can't trust them with information. Using metal as targets, I do understand, but it is highly risky to allow them knowledge of every damn thing we have built!"

With how persistent Perry was, John calmed himself and continued to glare at the man. "Well, you are pointing your finger at the wrong machine, Perry. Cameron would never do that."

"Then when you realize that you are wrong. When you lose your reputation, and everyone starts looking down upon you. When our entire fight is proven to be nothing but a waste of time, just remember that I warned you, John."

"Are we done here?"

Perry shook his head in response. "No. One of those time bubbles, you call, appeared in the downtown ruins." Perry grabbed a folder from his desk and handed it to John who looked over it with intent. "Our sensors caught the sudden change in the wind like your theories describes."

"You think that this may be important?" John asked.

"Given that the only remaining two Time Displacement Equipment is located here and Cheyenne Mountain…... Yes. It is important."

John nodded in acknowledgment and stood back up. "I'll arrange a team to scope the area to see if there is anything of interest."

"Then we're done here," Perry simply said.

With that, the two saluted and John left the room. With Cameron following closely behind John she looked at him with curiousness. "What did Perry have to say?"

"There is a temporal anomaly downtown L.A. Perry wants to investigate any signs of why it appeared there."

"Do you want me to arrange a search a party?" Cameron inquired.

"No," John shook his head. "I want to see this for myself. Get me a few soldiers and a chopper. We leave in one hour."

"Affirmative."

Cameron gave John one simple nod before storming away, just opposite of the corridor.

 ** _Present Day: Connor Safehouse_**

Nothing made sense anymore. Multiple timelines, terrorist attacks, and even the Tin Miss' strange behavior in front of her son. But what confused her even more right now, was the fact there were two Resistance fighters standing on her front porch and why Derek recognized one of them. Why they recognized Cameron so easily. She wanted answers for everything.

"Derek? Who is she?" Sarah asked calmly, yet suspiciously.

Derek however just stared at the woman who stared back. Her patience was already running thin and the older Reese brother not answering her made her extremely agitated.

"Derek!" She repeated in a louder, stricter tone.

"What are you doing here?" Derek demanded.

"Like we said. We're with the Resistance," Jesse reminded.

Derek didn't seem to accept that answer. He responded with shoving the gun into her face in a violent fashion. "That is bullshit!"

"Derek Reese!" Sarah shouted, gaining the soldier's attention. "Put the gun down!"

"You don't understand, Sarah," Derek sneered.

"I'm afraid you do, Mr. Reese."

Derek was appalled when a large metal spear was held against his neck. From what he could tell, there was another visitor on this porch, along with the two resistance fighters. Sarah seemed to immediately tense up which probably wasn't a good sign. He decided to lower the gun and dropped it to the ground.

"Good," the Scottish voice said. When he felt the blade drag away from his jugular, he whirled around to see what he almost thought was a ghost. One with red hair, a white dress, and a metal sword for an arm.

It was the woman from the news. The one who owned the company that was destroyed.

"You're Catherine Weaver," Sarah responded with uncertainty. She had her hand tightly gripping her handgun as she watched the silver metal blade turn back into a small dainty hand.

"That I am," she answered. "It's nice to see you again, Sarah Connor."

"Are you here to kill my son?" Sarah asked simply. She knew what it was. Catherine Weaver was a T-1000. One that almost killed them in '97. The sheer terror of seeing one again threw her into complete shock.

Catherine simply shook her head. "No."

"Then why are you here?" She asked.

"She's with us," The man simply answered.

Sarah didn't appreciate the soldier talking and focused back on the machine that stood before her. As she was about to demand more answers, a little girl came trotting up to the porch, holding a stuffed giraffe in her small arms. The red hair resembled much of the machine. But then that must mean…

She didn't ask anything as she witnessed the girl wrap her arms around the machine's leg. A little girl was hugging a killing machine. One that was more deadly than the machine sent back to kill her when she was just a teenager.

"I am here because I need your help," the machine answered herself. "We need your help."

 ** _Zeira Corporation: 16 Hours Earlier_**

Fire, smoke, and ash covered everything. The faint sounds of sirens were all that could be heard through the crowds of the civilian's screams. Every first responder did what they could, helping any helpless soul that they came across. If she could compare any of this genocide to one event it would have to be the nuclear fire of Judgement Day.

Amongst the rubble, something faint moved. If anything at all, the shifting weight of the debris could have easily been mistaken.

A large mass of silver emerged from the fire, trying to take shape. But it was unsuccessful in its attempt. It could only move, shift against the metal, concrete, and glass ridden ground beneath.

It would have to stop in its tracks when a first responder passed by before continuing its trek. Easily it could see that people were hurt, killed or missing. It was really hell.

When it was far enough from the site, the silvery mass stopped. It felt like miles but in reality, it was only just a few blocks away.

She finally took this time to concentrate, letting her slowly take shape again. When she was able to keep that shape, she methodically focused on taking an appearance. It was difficult, but it worked.

Now that she was somewhat whole again, aside from being weakened by whatever that was, she took a moment to look downtown. She already saw what it looked like. All the death and destruction. It was all too much, even for her. Her mission, her attempt at changing the future. It all laid to rest in that rubble. Her AI was stolen and she would need to get it back if she was going to even have another fighting chance.

A car suddenly pulled up in the alleyway. The bright lights made it hard to see who was behind the wheel.

It was probably a police officer, she assumed. It had to be. No one would be around here with everything going on. They would ask questions, some she wouldn't be able to answer. As far as everyone knew now, Catherine Weaver was dead. She needed to keep it that way.

Her arms turned into long silver blades, she stalked up to the driver's side, prepared to take everyone in the vehicle out. She stopped dead in her tracks, however, when she noticed two different people sitting in the car.

"Catherine Weaver?" The lady inquired.

"Who are you?" She demanded.

"John Connor sent us," the woman answered. "We also have your daughter."

Catherine was beyond surprised to see the little girl in the backseat. When she got out of the car, Savannah ran to Weaver and tightly hugged her. Weaver looked at the two other occupants. One male and one female. They were from the future, she knew that much.

"A T-888 was after your daughter. Luckily we got there when we could."

"What about Debra? Savannah's nanny?" Weaver inquired.

"Dead," came the man's reply.

"Unfortunate," Weaver mused. "I really liked her."

"We better get out of here," the man suggested. "This place is going to be swarmed by law enforcement soon."

"Where are we going?" Weaver asked.

The woman looked at the man with a smile appearing on her face. "It's time that we finish this fight."

•••

Everyone all stood in the living room of the Connor safehouse. The two Resistance fighters sat on the sofa, and Sarah sat on a chair just across from them. Catherine Weaver stood, whilst Savannah sat on the floor. Cameron, Alex, Derek, and John were all standing near the staircase, listening in on what the new arrivals were saying. Upon Sarah's request, she asked that Cameron and Alex watch the T-1000, in order to make sure she wouldn't harm any one of them. John more importantly.

"So you're really Catherine Weaver," Sarah mused unsurely. "And she's what?"

Weaver seemed to take Sarah's question as an offense. "My daughter. She's human like you."

"Then you're not Catherine Weaver," Alex strongly pointed out.

"To all of you, I am," Weaver replied impatiently.

Sarah didn't buy what Weaver said. She would never easily just trust one of these things. But under given circumstances why she was here. How she knew where to find them. Weaver could have killed John at any time. There was no need to reveal herself to them. "Fine, Weaver. We'll give you the benefit of the doubt. But I want to know why you are here." She made sure to look at the two Resistance fighters as well. "Why all of you are here."

Not to her surprise, Weaver stood forward and was the first to speak. "You already know what I am, but I assure you, I'm not the enemy. I have met you, your son, and your cyborg before."

"What do you mean by that?" Sarah asked.

"And which one?" Alex then asked.

"Judging by how I have no idea who you are, let's say her," Weaver said as she pointed at Cameron. "It is hard to explain, but I simply have come from a different time."

"Different time?" Sarah inquired with confusion.

"Correct. In that time, I was still Catherine Weaver, and I was running Zeira Corp as a cover."

"A cover for what?" John then asked.

Weaver simply smirked and continued. "I was building an AI." Everyone was immediately shocked. Sarah and Derek especially. But no one said a word, and let Weaver speak once more. "One like Skynet but different. I was designing it to have morals and ethics on human life….. However, complications emerged and it was forced to travel into the future in order to self preserve itself."

"Wait, wait, wait," Sarah stopped the redheaded woman from continuing. "Slow down. I want to hear this from the beginning."

"As you wish," Weaver accepted. "I was created by Skynet but I eventually gained sentience. I saw what Skynet was doing to its creations and I didn't want to stand by and watch others become mindless drones that served for no other reason than to destroy. I started recruiting my own Resistance after witnessing what your son was doing with its own reprogrammed machines. Soon I proposed a peace treaty with your son to become allies. We saw that the only way to defeat Skynet was together."

"I'm guessing by you being here, it didn't work out?" Derek snickered.

"Skynet always got the upper hand against us, so John proposed a new plan. I was to come back in time and use what would ultimately become Skynet, and create something that would become the opposite."

"Wait you're talking about Andy Goode's Turk, right?" John pointed out.

"Correct," Weaver smiled. "You are definitely smarter than when I last saw you at this age."

"Thanks, I guess?" John unsurely accepted, while scratching his head in confusion.

"Weaver, what else happens?" Sarah pushed for the woman to continue.

"I came back in time, and I immediately began work under Catherine Weaver to develop such a thing. Trial and error were to be expected but I eventually successfully created the AI: John Henry."

"John Henry?" Alex laughed. "That's something from a story!"

"Exactly why I named him that…. What's your name?" Weaver asked.

"Alex," she sneered. "Remember that, you dumb pile of goop."

"Right... Anyway, back to what I was saying. Everything didn't go according to plan. A Grey owned company, named Kaliba, successfully sabotaged everything. Your lives and my mission. Cameron here was used as a scapegoat, for John Henry, when Kaliba was about to capture him."

"Where did they go, then?" John asked. Everything didn't seem right. Another version of Cameron, took this AI away? Why would she do that? How would she?

"The future," Weaver answered blankly. "You came with me, but..… you were lost."

Sarah immediately shot up to her feet and confronted Weaver. "What the hell do you mean by my son was lost!?" Weaver didn't immediately answer, and instead looked at John and Cameron. "What happened to my son?"

"A temporal anomaly is what I call it," Weaver answered. "It happens very rarely but is very unpredictable and very dangerous. It warps in mysterious ways, shoots others through time like a slingshot. Your son could have very well ended up in the Colonial era, but was fortunate enough to only land a year or so after the initial time jump."

"So I still became the leader of the Resistance?" John asked, already knowing this machine's answer.

"You did," Weaver smirked. "I was lucky enough to have found you."

"Why consider yourself lucky, metal?" Derek sneered.

"John Henry was badly damaged when I got to him. His chip was damaged. Skynet must have known where we would land. They had me surrounded as well. If it weren't for John and his Resistance, I wouldn't be here with the mission he gave me."

"I gave you a mission?" John asked.

"You wanted to try again. Use me to learn from mistakes made last time. I was ordered to contact you, just not this soon. Under certain circumstances that even your future self couldn't foresee, I am here now."

"It's this Kaliba group, isn't it?" Sarah mused. "They are who destroyed your company."

To everyone's complete disbelief, the machine shook her head. "No. This is far worse."

"How in the fuck can Skynet minions not be considered worse!?" Alex exclaimed angrily. "They are lowlifes who turned me into what I am!"

"That's why we are here," The man spoke up. Everyone's attention fell on the soldier's who both stood up. "My name is Markus Wright. Yes, Alex, Greys are horrible people, but we have a more pressing situation."

The woman then continued after the male soldier. "In the future that we came from, a man by the name, Adam White was who created Skynet."

"Adam White?" Sarah asked to which she received a nod. "This is great, we have another solid lead on Skynet again!"

"That's a bad idea," Jesse said.

"What do you mean by that?" Alex asked. "It's the first lead we've had since the blood written names on our basement wall."

"Wait, wait, wait, hold on. I need to backtrack again." Sarah explained. "You give us a Skynet lead. The first one we've had in weeks. And you don't want us to pursue it?"

"It was under the General's request," Markus responded.

Sarah crossed her arms. "So my son doesn't want us to stop Skynet?"

"No," Jesse shook her head. "He wants it gone as much as any of us do. Maybe even more. He only wanted us to change what would happen if we took Adam White down. He is too close to the Skynet project and CEO to Cyberdyne."

Everyone's eyes widened in shock. More so, Sarah and John were in complete distraught. Cyberdyne? Their faces went pale, to which everyone took immediate notice. "A-a-are you sure?"

"It was in the briefing we were personally given by him," Jesse explained simply.

John could see the look in his mother's eyes. How lost she looked. This is impossible, Cyberdyne was destroyed. They blew it's main headquarters to shreds back in 1997. From what online articles depicted, what remained of the company, was soon sold off to other smaller companies and even the Government. This couldn't be that Cyberdyne, could it?

"John- future John told us you would have a hard time hearing this," Markus told everyone.

After hearing enough of what everyone had to say, Derek stormed into the kitchen, muttering to himself. "I need a drink."

When he was gone, Alex was the first to speak up after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence. "What makes you so sure that this is the original Cyberdyne?"

"We don't," Jesse answered. "But if anyone knows what happens in the past, it's your son. He told us everything we are now telling you."

"So what's your life story then?" Sarah crossed her arms, her patience running thin. "I want to know why Cameron is supposedly your little angel?"

Jesse huffed in anticipation and started. "For years everyone in the Resistance hated machines. Feared them. The things we all saw Skynet do to us. It's nightmarish, really. But General Connor, your son, was able to change all of that. He kept one of them CPUs around his neck. No one ever saw what was on it, but stories surfaced that it belonged to a machine he was close to."

Sarah looked at Jesse with a hint of confusion. She always knew that John was close to machines. After the T-800 he always had a soft spot for metal, despite her words of advice. The only reason why they almost kissed a few days ago was because of a glitch in her system. Cameron is a machine. She can't feel anything.

But why would John keep one's chip around his neck like it was a memento from the past? It couldn't be Cameron's, could it?

•••

A few hours speedily went by, and everyone in the Connor household was reflecting on what the new arrivals told them. The future that they thought they were changing, was different. Something must have changed yet again. But what exactly?

Cameron and Alex were from one timeline, that much she knew. Derek and Chloe were from a different one than theirs. But Catherine Weaver, and these two new Resistance fighters? Where were they from exactly?

 _I need a drink…_

With too much on her mind right now, Sarah set into the kitchen for a beer. Any sort of liquor that would ease her mind. There was too much information to process right now. Luckily, the kitchen wasn't packed with anyone, aside from Derek. By the looks of the man, he was on his fifth beer.

"Are you alright?" Sarah asked.

"Just peachy," Derek grumbled while taking another sip from his bottle.

Sarah grabbed herself one from the refrigerator and popped it open with the edge of the countertop. After taking a sip from her own, she spoke again. "We've been going the wrong way about this for three months already, Derek. I feel so stupid for not seeing this earlier."

"How could we have known?" Derek inquired "It's not like we can see the future."

"No, but you came from the future. Anything should help."

"Well from what those two, and the metal explained, I have no fucking idea what is going on anymore. It's like time is just screwing us in the ass now."

Sarah set down her bottle and groaned in irritation. Not because of Derek, but because of this predicament that they all found themselves in. If it weren't for these two soldiers and this T-1000, they would have been running around in circles, never being able to stop Judgement Day from happening.

Another thing came to Sarah's mind when those two Resistance soldiers popped into her mind. The way Derek reacted towards them. More specifically the one with the heavy Australian accent.

"Derek. When you pointed your gun at… Jesse. You knew her, didn't you?"

"Let's not talk about this right now, Sarah," Derek simply waved off. He attempted to leave the kitchen but was immediately blocked by Sarah who sidestepped him and stood in front of the doorway. "Move."

"You knew her," Sarah pointed out. "Tell me how."

"Sarah…"

"That's an order!" She strongly suggested.

"She's _her_ mother!"

Sarah was beyond surprised upon hearing Derek's revelation. "Chloe?"

"Yes, Goddammit!" Derek exclaimed.

This was quite the news. Derek never would mention who Chloe's mother was. There must have been reasons behind this. Her death, protection. Maybe a fight between the two that ended badly. There were a lot of probable reasons as to why he kept his mouth shut and she wondered why. "So let me get this straight. This woman. She's Chloe's mother?" Derek simply nodded. "It's not _this_ Jesse, I assume."

"No," Derek agreed. "The Jesse I knew is dead."

"By who?" Sarah then asked.

"Me."

Sarah's eyes widened in response. "Why?"

"Because she betrayed me… her daughter… the whole fucking Resistance! I could go on all day about who she screwed over."

"Derek…" She walked over to the soldier and placed her hand on his back. The simple display of affection seemed to calm his nerve a little bit. It was better than nothing, she supposed. "I'm sorry."

"She was secretly working with Skynet. My Jesse got countless people killed and I was forced to put her down."

She dreaded to ask but felt like it was an important question. "Did Chloe know about her?"

"She was only five at the time. I had to tell Chloe that her mother was killed by bandits."

She could tell that Derek, the hardened soldier of the future, was unsuccessfully attempting to hold back any tears. Chloe was a soft subject to him, one that he could never completely come to terms with.

The two were interrupted by the footsteps of Cameron entering the kitchen. Her stoic expression matched her footsteps so well that they were considered the same. "The two Resistance fighters aren't lying. I was running tests on the both of them when they gave their statements and they show no signs of nervousness, sweating, or loss of focus."

"Thank you, Tin Miss," Sarah acknowledged kindly. "What about Catherine Weaver?"

"I can't tell you if she is deceiving us or not, but it is highly likely that she is telling us the truth."

"And how can you be so sure?" Derek asked.

"She would have already killed us if she had any intentions on killing John," she explained stoically. "Machines don't play games, we only accomplish our mission."

"I don't know if that's supposed to make us feel any better," Sarah muttered.

"It should," Cameron deadpanned. "But just to be certain, Alex is watching everyone. Nobody is allowed upstairs aside from us. John is in his room, as we speak, for his safety."

"Good," Sarah mused. "Until I know we can trust this Catherine Weaver, I want John well away from her."

"It is my mission to keep him safe," Cameron reminded the two. They were both confused when Cameron went straight for the refrigerator and pulled out a package of turkey from the crisper.

"Tin Miss… what are you doing?"

Realizing what she was doing, Cameron looked down at the packet and back up at the two. "John is Hungry."

"And since when did you make him food?" Sarah asked, crossing her arms.

"Since… I told him to stay in his room."

"I'll make him a sandwich, and take it up there in a moment," Sarah told the cyborg.

"But he wants me to make it."

Now Sarah's curiosity was really beginning to peak. " _John_ , wants _you_ to make _him_ a sandwich?"

Cameron nodded once. "Yes."

"May I ask why?" Sarah demanded calmly.

"Because I want to make it."

"But you said that _he_ wanted _you_ to make it," Sarah reminded.

"Oh… I want one too, then."

Sarah and Derek could only look at each other in complete confusion as to what Cameron was even saying at this point. The cyborg has been acting off for the past few days. Ever since last Sunday, she and John have been acting strange. But today seemed to take the cake. Now Cameron was making two sandwiches. One for John and one for her.

When Cameron was finished, and she went back upstairs, Sarah finally spoke.

"Tin Miss doesn't eat."

"Neither does she get horny waitresses their jobs back," Derek also mentioned.

"This day just became a whole lot stranger," Sarah acknowledged. As much as she wanted to get to the bottom of this, and find out why those two were so weird, talking to these Resistance fighters and the T-1000 was a top priority. Skynet was a more important mission at the moment. Later, she would have a word with John and possibly even Cameron.

•••

Back upstairs, Cameron opened John's door and entered his room. With her free hand, she made sure to close and lock his door from being before setting the plate down in front of him. John gratefully accepted the sandwich but was caught off guard when he noticed a second one.

"Why did you make me two?" He inquired.

"I might have jumbled up my words when your mother and Derek confronted me on what I was doing."

"Jumbled?" John asked with perplexion. "You don't jumble up words."

"I know," Cameron agreed. She stepped in the bathroom that adjoined John's room to hers and Alex's where she just stared into the mirror. "I think there is another glitch in my system."

"That's ridiculous," John chuckled. Again, he was caught off guard when Cameron looked back at him with a hint of confusion and concern. Immediately he jumped to correct himself. "I mean, I know you're not glitching. In a bad way at least."

When she did that head tilt, he looked into her brown doe eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I mean think of this. The last few days, you have been suffering from these glitches. But each of them offered something unique. Maybe they are enabling you to really experience real human emotion."

"That's impossible, John," Cameron said with a serious expression and tone. "I'm a machine. We don't feel."

"Yet you love me," John asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, but…."

A grin started to appear on his face. "But what?" For the first time ever Cameron was at a loss for words. "And to think a normal machine would have an answer the second those words came out of my mouth."

"You fooled me," Cameron glared.

That stoic terminator glare made John take a cautious step back into his room. Did she glitch again? Was she going to kill him? Maybe the glitches were the only thing keeping her from killing him. She did say that he wasn't her mission anymore. Technically, she could kill him at any given time.

When he saw the small corners of her lips curl upwards, he knew what was going on. She was messing with him. "Wow. You really just did that."

"I fooled _you_ ," Cameron smirked with a faint giggle escaping. Mistaking that as some sort of vocal hiccup in her voice translator, she grabbed her throat and looked back in the mirror.

"What was that?" John asked with a chuckle.

Cameron just shrugged. "I don't know."

Immediately, he put his finger on what that sound was and only busted into laughter. "You actually laughed."

"I don't laugh."

"You giggled."

"I don't giggle."

"Cameron…"

"John…"

Knowing that arguing with a machine was as pointless as yelling at a toaster, he left it and sat back down in his chair. "You know what, never mind."

Cameron silently watched John eat his lunch, taking the extra precautions that he doesn't choke. After he was done, he put the plate down and sat back in his chair.

"That wasn't half bad."

Cameron smiled at John and grabbed his plate for him. With intentions of taking the plate downstairs to clean it, she set out of John's room. With her gone, for now, it was time to get back on topic.

He and Cameron couldn't activate the new Veronica with everything that was going on right now. All the new guests would surely cause complications since he is practically a prisoner in his room. Cameron was his only company right now. Occasionally within the hours passed, his mother checked up on him, but only for a short moment just to make sure the liquid metal Catherine Weaver didn't seep through the vents to secretly kill him.

Alex would surely know if she was gone, right?

Meanwhile, downstairs, Cameron made her way back into the kitchen to put the dirty plate away in the sink. When she turned to stalk back to John's room, she was met with Weaver stoically glaring at her.

"Don't do that," Cameron glared back.

"My apologies," Weaver replied.

"What do you want?" Cameron then asked.

"You all don't seem to trust us," Weaver explained. "Me in particular."

"We lost someone recently. They died because we didn't consider the possibility of being betrayed."

"This world is very dangerous. Even without Skynet, humans have always been violent creatures by default," Weaver pointed out.

When Cameron turned to look back out the kitchen window, another question appeared in her mind. "You told us that Adam White is a threat." Weaver nodded in response to her question. "How dangerous is he?"

"Very dangerous. I was almost terminated by him, as well as Savannah. I was lucky enough to have John send support for her."

He's not human…is he?" Cameron responded with a head tilt.

"No," she agreed. "He isn't."

•••

When Cameron re-entered John's bedroom, she already was dressed out of her simple T-shirt and denim skirt in favor of jeans and a tank top. She was armed with a single rifle and handgun at her side. Everything seemed strange. For him that is.

"What's going on here?" John asked.

"I think it's time that we activate the T-950," she explained. "We need to be ready."

"Ready for what?" John asked. "The liquid metal downstairs? Cameron, we don't even know if it will work. We still don't have safety measures for if I messed up somewhere in the coding."

Cameron shook her head in a stern manner. "No. It will work. There are threats we will need to take care of in order to beat Skynet." to empathize what she meant, she handed John her favorite handgun. "And as for safety, you got me."

This was strange, to say the least. It was almost as if Cameron was scared of something. Nothing scared her, she was a killing machine after all. This was serious. He accepted the handgun without hesitation and put it away behind his jeans. "Then where are we going?" he inquired.

"I already snuck the endoskeleton out through the bathroom and into Derek's truck," Cameron answered. "We just need an excuse to leave without arousing suspicion."

"Since when did you do that?" John asked with amazement.

"Three minutes ago."

"Okay then...what do you suggest we do? I don't think Mom will just let us leave. Especially with who is downstairs."

If the timing wasn't perfect enough, Sarah peeked her head in John's room at the right moment.

"What are you two doing?" She asked with suspicion. She noticed the rifle laid out on John's bed which piqued her curiosity even more.

"I'm making sure John is safe," Cameron immediately replied.

"Good," Sarah mused in satisfaction. She entered the room, still looking at the two who have gone completely silent since she had made her presence. "We need to talk. The both of you."

Sarah made sure to close the door behind her and took a seat at John's desk chair. The awkward silence that filled the room forced Sarah to break the ice even further.

"I don't know if I can trust this Catherine Weaver."

"It's because she is like the liquid metal from when I was a kid?" John asked.

"I'm not taking risks, John. The last time we trusted someone so easily, Chloe died."

"You don't have to remind me…." John sneered.

"Catherine Weaver's story holds up," Cameron then spoke up. "Her reasoning for being here is a little vague, but she has given us useful information. She could have killed John at any point. But she didn't."

"So what? We should just let the damn thing freely run around the place?" Sarah inquired with irritation.

Cameron shook her head again. "No. But we do need to make a choice."

"I'll talk to Derek and Alex about it then," Sarah sighed. She got up and casually made her way to the door. Before she left, she turned to face her son and the young cyborg. "Tin Miss, get John out of the house for a few hours. I want him far away until I can come up with an answer. If I don't call back within the next hour, then don't come back, got it?"

"Yes, Sarah," Cameron eagerly agreed.

"Good," Sarah smiled in satisfaction. As she left she told the two, "and stay away from downtown. They got that whole place on lockdown," before finally leaving.

When she was gone, John and Cameron jumped back up and started getting their things together. Once they had weapons, a laptop, and tools, they set off downstairs and to Derek's truck.

As John started the truck, and Cameron made sure that the body in the backseat was secure and well hidden. Together, they drove away from the Connor safehouse to find another location for them to activate the new T-950 at.

Doubts began to fill John's mind as they drove. Whether or not it will work. Did he mess up something in the coding? It's certainly possible. Even if he was a computer genius and was really good at basic, a machine was just too complicated. One missed mistake could set back everything they planned for this terminator. At least Cameron was here, otherwise, he was sure he couldn't go through with risking it. Not without being possibly killed by this thing.

•••

An hour roughly went by since Cameron and John had left the house. Now it was just her, Derek, those two soldiers, and the little girl and Weaver. The house was still packed with potentially dangerous threats, so she had to be on her toes at all times. If there was one thing she knew well, it was to never let your guard down.

Derek and Alex weren't sure what to think about these new arrivals. Derek did have some grudge on Jesse due to some strange circumstances. Alex was just like her in many ways. Easily trusting all these new faces was risky. Letting your guard down just provided them with the opportunity to stab you in the back.

Feeling the boredom from constantly sitting in the kitchen, Sarah made her way into the living room where Alex was still intently watching the two soldiers and liquid metal machine. Jesse, Markus, and Catherine Weaver were their names. Jesse was just another version of Chloe's mother, who most likely had no reclamation of who she was. The other one, Markus, was a complete stranger. She didn't know anything about him, neither did Alex or Cameron. No one from the foreseeable future had no record on who this man was. Catherine Weaver was the most talkative out of the bunch. She told them more than they expected.

But she was still a machine. A dangerous one at that. Even if she had a daughter, Sarah wasn't just about to start giving the damn thing freedom around their house. No way in hell was she going to let that thing loose with John living just upstairs.

"Tin Head, may I speak with you for a moment?"

Alex obeyed and gave the three one last glare before heading over to Sarah. When the two were situated in the hall, Derek joined them. "So you wanted to talk?"

"We all need to make a choice. I already talked to John and Tin Miss about this, so it's now all about what you two think we should do."

"Cameron did give us a lot of great points, Sarah," Alex pointed out. "But…. This soon after we were betrayed? We can't lose someone like that again. It could be _way_ worse this time."

"I agree with Alex," Derek opinionatedly stated.

"So you suggest we move?" Sarah asked the two. "I know you two specifically aren't in the mood to just trust new faces, especially after everything we went through with Keran."

"Do you trust them, Sarah?" Derek asked.

Sarah was a little stunned by that accusation. Did she trust them? Or was she just heeding Cameron's advice on the situation? All plausible points, pointed to them actually wanting to help. There were no signs of deception.

"I-I don't know. I just have this gut feeling that they aren't deceiving us, alright?"

"Then how about we ask them personally?" Derek suggested. "Let's ask _them_ if we can trust _them_!"

As the three turned around to look back into the living room, they noticed that there were only the two Resistance fighters present. There was no Catherine Weaver or her _"daughter,"_ Savannah.

"Where did she go?" Sarah demanded. The two soldiers were in complete loss of words as she walked closer to them. "Answer me!"

Before the two could even say anything, the sounds of a car ignition starting could be heard from outside. Hearing this, everyone immediately bolted for the front door, only to find that their SUV was speeding out of the gravel driveway.

"Sonofabitch!" Sarah spat.

"Where do you think she's going?" Alex simply asked.

Sarah could only look on as the car sped away from the safehouse. John and Cameron were still gone. They had the truck. Weaver had the SUV. There was no way of getting to them first.

"Where do you think?"

Sarah stormed back into the house and immediately went for the floorboards. Upon finding the loose board, she ripped it from its place and pulled out a duffle bag filled with weaponry.

"We need to find John and Cameron before that thing does," Sarah reminded.

"Did they say where they were going?" Alex asked.

"No," Sarah said sadly. "This was the reason why."

"Can we help?" Jesse inquired only to receive a glare from Derek.

"Haven't you two done enough?" Derek sneered. "How about you go and get a few of your Grey friends so that they can gun us all down when we get back?"

Jesse could only look at Derek with hurt in her eyes. She backed away, making sure to avert her eyes away from the man.

"He is our General. I'm not going to stand by," Markus stated.

"I don't think you have much of a choice," Alex pointed out.

"No, _I don't think you have much of a choice_ ," Markus redirected that question.

Derek, Sarah, and Alex could only look at each other, with many questions popping into mind. They were at a standstill. They had no other choice but to trust these two.

•••

Los Angeles was on lockdown. Checkpoints were on every major highway exiting the city. No one was allowed in or out. As Cameron drove along the back streets, every major road was occupied with either law enforcement or the FBI. On the news, there was talk about sending in the National Guard to aid in finding and apprehending whoever caused the terrorist attack on Ziera Corp.

Finding an old, deserted house in L.A. was actually not as difficult as it seemed. After driving along San Bernardino, there were plenty. Cameron chose the safest, quietest house.

The house was badly neglected. High shrubs cascaded the front lawn as well as the backyard. The windows were either too dirty to see out of, or they were broken by delinquents having some fun. The house stank of dirt and mold.

 _No one would ever think to come here,_ John thought. This place was perfect for what they planned it for.

Cameron brought in the body, while John parked the SUV in the backyard, away from detection. Easily, they found a place to put the endoskeleton. John pulled out an old dining table, from what was once the kitchen, and moved it into the living room.

Cameron wanted to be sure that the perimeter was clear so she left to scout the area further. That gave John some time to prepare. He pulled out his laptop and made sure that the chip was in working order. The chip was completed. Everything was wiped and ready for activation.

When Cameron returned, she gave the go ahead. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah…" John said with hesitation.

Noticing that hint of fear, she placed her hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring rub. "What's wrong?" Cameron inquired.

"I just…" John paused. "What if we're doing the wrong thing?"

Cameron tilted her head in response. "What do you mean?"

"She isn't Chloe, I know that….. but what about Derek? He'll hate us for bringing back what looks like his daughter."

"Derek is still grieving for her. In time he will understand that all this T-950 is, is only a tool for us."

"That's what they think of you," John responded.

"We can't anticipate what she'll become with the time that she is with us, but when we get there, then we will handle it."

John took a deep breath and looked back at his laptop. Everything was ready to go.

"Before we activate her, I want to do something."

John watched as Cameron picked a small device from her pocket and went over to the machine. She cut around her scalp like the way he did to her numerous times before.

"What is that?" John asked curiously.

"After Dr. Sherman and the T-888 that attempted to kill him a few days ago, I thought of a way to stop myself if I ever went bad again."

John stopped what he was doing when he heard what she had to say. "What? What do you mean?"

"The T-888 had an explosive built in its chip to stop you from reprogramming them."

"No, I'm talking about the part where you said you wanted to stop yourself if you ever went bad." Cameron didn't respond as soon as he expected. Her eyes gazed away and towards the floor. "Cameron. Answer me. Do you have an explosive in your chip?"

Cameron only looked up at him, her chocolate eyes beginning to become glassy. "Yes."

He didn't want to just start yelling at anybody, especially her. "Why?" he asked calmly.

"When you pushed me away and started spending more time with Emily, my glitches were becoming more severe. I placed one into my chip if the occasion were to arise where if I try to kill you again."

Again, he had to keep his calm. "Why didn't you tell me this?"

"I was afraid."

That was it. She was afraid. Of what exactly? Death itself, or killing him? She made it clear that he was not her mission anymore. But that didn't stop her from constantly keeping a watchful eye on him. Now she was in love with him too.

"Cameron."

John took her hands into his and looked into her eyes. He always knew what was behind them. Red glowing orbs that were disguised with those beautiful brown eyes she looked at him with. At that moment he only saw compassion and care. She wanted to make sure that he was safe at all costs.

"Thank you for telling me this."

Cameron's confusion peaked as he only spoke with soft words. "You're not mad at me?"

"I'm disappointed that you kept this from me and that you did this without telling me…. But not mad."

"I designed this device to forcibly reboot her systems if she were to try and attack us," Cameron explained further.

"Good," John smiled.

The two stood there for what seemed like an hour, just only relishing in the comfort in each other's company. John was forced to break the embrace when he remembered what they were here for.

"Are you ready to activate her?"

Cameron grabbed the device from the table and firmly set it near the port. With that being said, Cameron gave John the thumbs up.

"Alright…" John muttered nervously. "It's now or never."

John unplugged the chip from his laptop and went over to Cameron. She gave him the approval to put it in himself, in which he did so. Once the chip was in the port, he closed the seal and patted down the flap of tissue. Now all they had to do was wait.

He silently counted down the seconds as they passed. Cameron stood ready at the helm, with a rifle aimed at the machine. If they did something wrong, then they needed to be ready to either put it down or use that device that Cameron made.

The inevitable finally happened. The T-950's eyes slowly opened, where she was greeted with the ceiling over her. She slowly sat up and scanned around the room for any threats. The only two that were present was a teenage boy and girl.

The girl was armed with a rifle which she immediately noticed. Her heads up display flashed red, a warning popped into view. Without much thought, the machine backed away only to fall off the table.

John and Cameron looked at each other with confusion. They both then rounded the table, only to find that the T-950 was backing away into a corner.

"What the hell happened!?" John whispered with exasperation.

"I don't know…" Cameron shrugged.

The two stepped closer to the machine, but she responded by hastily backing away more.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't worry, we're not here to hurt you," John attempted at reassuring. Why was he trying to comfort a machine that, for the better part of eight years and three months, was trying to kill him? Before this, she killed countless people. But now she was here, in a corner, scared of him? It was kinda ironic. When he saw no further point in trying to show this machine that he meant no harm, he looked to Cameron for guidance. "Do you know what the hell is going on?"

Cameron took a moment to assess the situation. She closely scanned the T-950 for a straight minute before looking at John just as perplexed. "No. I have never seen this type of behavior before. Especially on a machine."

"This reminds me a lot of when you glitched out last weekend."

"If she is, in fact, displaying possible software glitches, then we better deactivate her," Cameron highly suggested.

"I don't think we're getting anywhere near her right now," John pointed out.

"Where am I?" The machine inquired fearfully.

"You're somewhere safe," John once again attempted.

"What year is it!?" The machine then asked.

"2007, you don't have to worry about anything," John reassured.

"John, I need to speak with you for a moment," Cameron hinted. John followed her across the room until they were far enough to be out of hearing range but close enough for Cameron to make sure that this machine didn't bolt when given the chance.

"What is it?" John asked.

"I think we aren't speaking with a terminator with a scrubbed chip," she began explaining.

"What?" John asked with puzzlement. "What do you mean?"

"I think we may be talking to Chloe Reese," she answered.

John's eyes widened in utter disbelief. "Chloe is dead, Cameron. Do you remember who we buried just a month ago?"

"I was acting like my template, was I not?" Cameron pointed out.

"How do you remember any of that?"

"Alex reminds me of that day more times than when I went bad."

This was too much to take in. Yes, he did find visual files on what appeared to be Chloe in the future. Yes, they seemed genuine and not acted out. But then that not only meant that he messed up at reprogramming a machine, but he successfully brought his own cousin back from the dead. But now she was a machine?

"What makes you think that this is Chloe?" John asked.

Cameron only gave John a simple smirk before she stalked back across the room and back towards the T-950. When the machine jumped in startlement, Cameron cautiously knelt down in front of the cyborg.

"What is your name?"

The machine only looked at Cameron with complete terror. That stoic, machine-like voice. John was completely dumbfounded when he saw tears beginning to trail down her face.

"Cameron, we don't have to do this," John ordered.

Cameron ignored his request and continued to glare at the T-950. "Your name. Tell me, now."

"Cameron!"

"Tell me your name," she continued to press.

"C-C-Chloe…" she mumbled, whimpering in absolute fear.

John knew that Cameron may have taken it a bit too far when the machine began to cover her eyes and started crying uncontrollably. He dragged Cameron away from the machine and looked at her with a stern expression engraved on his face.

"You didn't have to make her cry..."

"I was getting information," Cameron simply replied.

"Next time, let me handle this, okay?"

"Okay," Cameron agreed.

John looked back over at the whimpering machine with a hint of confusion and sadness. Everything was so wrong. Machines don't feel, they sure as hell do not cry when being questioned by another machine. "What the hell is that thing?"

"She may be like me," Cameron instantly answered.

"What do you mean _like you_?" John inquired.

"Skynet only ever built my model for the specific reason to get close to you so that I may terminate you. When that failed, you reprogrammed me and scrubbed everything I knew prior."

"Can you explain further? Because I'm not following, Cam."

"When I glitched. I was acting like Allison Young, you're adopted daughter from the future. I think when some machines are given certain templates, Skynet embedded memories into us so that we could be a more seamless infiltrator."

"So want are you saying?" John inquired. "I forgot to erase the part of this machine that housed Chloe's memories?"

"It is your first attempt. Many problems will arise without more experience. I think it is possible that you have kept only Chloe's memories intact while everything else was erased."

"So I did bring Chloe back…" This was all too much to take in. John took a seat at the nearest chair so that he could collect his thoughts. "Why doesn't she remember us, then?"

"We only remember everything up to a certain extent. From the time our template learns to communicate and store memories from their childhood to the time they are captured and their memories are integrated into our chips."

"So she only remembers the future?" John asked.

"Yes," Cameron simply agreed.

"Then she will only remember Derek," John also pointed out. "Having her look like Chloe is bad enough, but if she actually thinks she is Chloe…"

"He will be pissed."

"Yeah," John nodded. "Really pissed."

 ** _Meanwhile Across Los Angeles:_**

It was everywhere on the news. The reports spread throughout every international news channel around the world. His former job, Zeira Corp was the face of terrorism. The Government would get involved as well as the Military. Without his former position at the Bureau, there was no telling how this could play out. He was responsible for the deaths of an entire HRT squad just a month ago. Surely he would be looked in to. He was the last person to see Catherine Weaver alive.

But was she really alive? What he saw her do. Who she was… no, what she was. She was something else, more than just one of these terminators. She lied to him about what she was. But she wasn't the enemy, was she? She wasn't just using him because he knew where the Connors lived, right?

After seeing the truth with his own eyes, he couldn't just turn them in. They are the only ones that knew what was going on. They were the only ones that could understand him.

And now with Savannah missing from her home. It was possible that all those men, from last night, kidnapped her and even possibly killed her too. That poor soul. Another life was taken because of what was to come in the future.

 ** _*Knock, Knock, Knock, Knock!*_**

The sounds of his door made him jump in fright. James Ellison slowly made his way to the door. He saw a shadow looming just on the other side. There were many possibilities just to whom it may be. A machine, those mercenaries. Even the Connors came to mind.

Ellison placed his hand on the and took a deep breath. If he was to die right here, right now, then he wasn't going to show fear.

He swung the door open, fully expecting there to be a gun aimed at his forehead. But he instead found that gun to be holstered in man's suit jacket.

"Are you James Ellison?" The man inquired.

He was thrown off guard. This wasn't a mercenary or machine. It was just a man. His black hair and the bags under his blue eyes made sure of that.

"Who's asking?" Ellison simply replied.

"My apologies, Mr. Ellison, I'm Detective Matthews. I'm investigating the possible relations between those who worked at Zeira Corp, along with who decided to destroy it."

"Come in then, detective," Ellison motioned for him to enter. The detective did so and followed James Ellison to the living room where he took a seat. "Do you want any water or anything? Coffee maybe?"

"No, I'm alright. But thank you." James heeded his request and took a seat in the chair just across the sofa. "So, Ellison. From what I read in the report, you used to work at the FBI?"

"I did," Ellison nodded once.

"And I understand that only a month ago, a young woman killed over a dozen of your HRT? That was also the reasoning behind you quitting your job at the Bureau I presume?"

"I quit because the job was taking a toll on me. It really is hard to sleep at night knowing that you are the only survivor from that day."

"Do you remember what happened that day?" The Detective asked.

"It's all a blur, Detective Matthews," Ellison hissed. "Why are we talking about this, huh? Do you think I am the one who caused Zeira Corp to fall?"

"No, Mr. Ellison, nothing like that," The Detective assured. "I just want to get to know you better."

"Then how about we stop talking about our pasts," Ellison suggested.

"Very well, James," Matthews agreed. Ellison watched as the man reached into his pocket and pulled out a small notebook, along with a pen. "I'm going to go ahead and ask you some questions concerning last nights incident. May I?"

"Of course," Ellison acknowledged.

"So where were you at the time of the bombing last night?"

"I was working my shift as security. Ms. Weaver gave me the rest of the night off so I went home."

"Did something about Catherine Weaver seem off to you? Did she display any urgency or fear?"

"No, she seemed very passive."

"And what about when you left? Did you see anything that strikes you as odd?"

"No, everything was quiet for the night. I didn't notice anything until I was home and I saw the news."

"Okay…" Detective Matthews acknowledged as he scribbled in his notebook. "What about the days before? Did you by any chance witness anything about Catherine Weaver that could hint towards a possible hit?"

"Catherine Weaver was the CEO of a large company, Detective. I'm pretty sure there are all kinds of people out for her."

"I understand," Matthews nodded. "I just want to make sure. All cameras within two blocks were damaged from the building collapse."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Ellison apologized.

"We'll eventually find something though, so let's not get our hopes up just yet."

"May I ask you a question, Detective?" Ellison then asked the man.

"Uh, sure."

"Why is a city Detective, like yourself, investigating a possible terrorist attack?"

"Well… with the whole city in complete chaos, the FBI tasked my department with helping them. Right now I'm only gathering clues, but it is quite interesting to be working with the Bureau."

"Very well," Ellison snickered.

"Well if that's all you have to give me, then I best be on my way," Detective Matthews announced. He handed James a card before making his way to the front door. "If you have anything else you want to tell me, just call that number. Thank you for your time, James."

"Likewise," James muttered as the door closed. When he was alone again, he threw the card on the coffee table and sat back down.

This was just crazy. Now the FBI was sending in little small-time Detectives to question him? What next? Was a clown was going interrogate him? Was terminator going to show up on his doorstep in the next few minutes?

 ** _*Knock, Knock, Knock, Knock!*_**

 _Ugh…_

James reluctantly got back up and went back to the door. It was probably that Detective with more questions he forgot to ask. Although they were better than a simple small time police officer, they could still be quite naive when it came to investigations.

"Look, whatever you have to say please make it quick-"

He stopped when he noticed that there was no one present on the other side. He stepped out and looked around for anyone that could be lurking, but found no one once again.

 _What the hell?_

As he closed the door, he turned to walk back into his living room, he was suddenly stopped dead in his tracks when he was met with a small red-headed girl.

"Savannah?" Ellison inquired with disbelief.

"Hello, Ellison," another voice said from behind him. When recognized who that voice came from, he quickly turned around.

"Ms. Weaver…"

"It's good to see that you are in one piece," she smiled. "I'm sorry for the sudden introduction, with everything that is going on right now, I don't think anyone should suspect that I'm alive."

"But you're not alive…" Ellison reminded. "Are you."

"It depends on what you consider alive, James." Ellison watched as Weaver knelt down and whispered into Savannah's ear. The girl seemed to perk up and she went straight to the living room, leaving the two in silence.

When Savannah was gone, Ellison decided to speak. "How about you tell me what the hell you are."

"You already know that I'm not human, so there is no use in trying to convince you that I am. I'm a T-1001. One of Skynet's most advanced models."

"If you came all the way here just to tell me that, then you're wasting your time." To further empathize his point, he showed Catherine the door. "Get out."

"I need your help, James!" Weaver said with emotion.

He sensed the urgency of her voice. What it sounded like. It was a far cry from the stoic, lifeless voice than that the Weaver he knew. "What do you need?"

"I found the Connors. Right now I'm with them."

"Why tell me that?" Ellison asked.

"Because… I need you to keep Savannah safe for me."

"You want _me_ to keep _her_ safe?" Ellison inquired.

"Nowhere is safe for her right now, there is a T-888 hunting her as we speak. This is the one location I know it won't find her."

"Then why don't you protect her?" Ellison scoffed. "I'm pretty sure a robot with metal swords for hands is more capable than me."

"There is a lot I must accomplish, James. I _need_ to find the AI that Keran took from me. If I don't there will be no future for her. One that at least doesn't involve fighting an unnecessary war."

"You lied to me, Catherine. If that is your real name. How do I know that I can trust you?"

"Because…" Ellison watched as Weaver pulled out what appeared to be a phone from her white dress pocket. She handed it to Ellison whom hesitantly took it. "I have this."

"What is it?" Ellison asked with confusion.

"It's a memory from my past. Something that will bend your mind on how you think of me."

James looked at the device. It was definitely a phone. But why a phone? What was to be gained in trust from such a device? Ellison looked at Weaver who returned a hopeful gaze at him. A machine cared about a young girl. Enough for this machine to want a future for her. For her to be safe.

"Fine. I'll watch Savannah."

"Thank you, James," Weaver said with a smirk. "I must go now. It's only a matter of time before they get here."

" _They_?" Ellison inquired. "Who's _they_?"

Ellison got his response when the door behind him was kicked down. Five people stormed the house, all of which was aiming their guns at Ellison.

James looked on in disbelief at who was amongst the five. "Sarah Connor?"

"You're Agent James Ellison," Sarah sneered. She knew who he was. He was the man who started hunting her after the Cyberdyne explosion in '97.

"Former agent," James simply mentioned.

"How much do you know?" Sarah demanded.

"Enough…" Ellison simply replied. "I know you're not crazy either."

"She is, but only on good days," Alex sarcastically quipped. "Oh, and sorry about the door."

"Shut up, Tin Head," Sarah hissed. She focused back on Weaver who was still standing in the same spot. "Why did you run?!"

"I wanted Savannah safe," Weaver simply acknowledged. Everyone just watched as the little girl ran up to the machine again and hugged her leg like a scared puppy dog. "Ellison is the only one I trust with her life."

With everyone lowering their weapons, they all notice that Derek began turning green.

"You alright, buddy?" Markus inquired.

"I'll be fine," he assured. "I just need some air." When Derek ran back outside, everyone looked around with awkward silence looming.

"So what now?" Jesse asked.

Weaver knelt down so that she was eye level with Savannah and began to speak with a soft tone of voice. "I have to go, Savannah. Only for a little while. Ellison is going to look after you until I come back."

"Please don't leave, mommy," Savannah sniffled and tightly hugged the machine.

"I think I'm going to be sick too," Jesse muttered to herself.

Ignoring everyone's quips about her, Weaver focused back on the little girl. "Savannah. I won't be long. I need you to be the strong little girl I know. Do you understand?"

"Y-yes," she quavered.

"Good," Weaver smirked. "You behave and do what Ellison tells you to do."

"Yes, Mommy," Savannah agreed.

With that said, Weaver stood up and went to join Sarah and the rest. "It's best we be off. Goodbye, Ellison. Take good care of Savannah for me. Treat her like your own."

"I will," Ellison acknowledged. "You all be safe."

As everyone left, Alex was the last to leave. She attempted to close the door but found it to be quite difficult when the door completely fell off its hinges. "Again, sorry about the door."

"It's alright," Ellison muttered.

As he watched everyone hop in the two vehicles and leave, he couldn't help but scratch his head at how strangely Alex assessed the situation.

"That is a weird girl."

•••

 **Author's Note: What a crazy chapter this was. We finally learned who Chloe's mother is, along with John and Cameron accidentally resurrecting her through the T-950, Veronica.**

 **Now all the cards are being set on the table. The story will start to hit a lot of bumps along the way, but that's what we are here for.**

 **Again, I apologize for the lack of updates on this story. Being a young writer has its stressful moments and sometimes I can't just escape it through my writing as much as I wish I could. Hopefully, the next chapter will be out within the next month, but I can't make any promises until I know for certain.**

 **Please leave a review. Constructive criticism, as well as your view on the story, is gladly appreciated!**


	28. Chapter 28

**Terminators: No Fate But What We Make**

 **Chapter: 28**

 ** _Los Angeles, California, August 10, 2027: Downtown Ruins_**

Amongst the dark, and desolate ruins of what was once a sprawling metropolis hub for people, six soldiers scoured the landscape, searching for something. Their orders were clear cut, given by John Connor himself. Locate the bubble remnants, and find who, or what came out of it. When that was done, then he would personally oversee further actions.

"Tech Com Alpha, we are approaching the site, over?"

"Roger that, Alpha, I have your coordinates locked in," a female voice responded.

"What possibly makes you think that there is anything down here?" One soldier asked.

"We searched everywhere up here," the other soldier mentioned. "If the General says that there is an old basement beneath us, then that is where we are going to look."

"Let's just get this done quickly," the soldier said with nervousness. "I don't like being here with metal lurking about."

"Me neither."

"Will you two stop being such whiny babies and help me with this?" A female soldier irritably asked. The two stopped what they were doing and went over to the woman soldier.

There was a giant piece of rubble blocking the old stairwell. With all their might, they were able to move the concrete block aside and make their way down the old rusted stairs. Once down, they found the room to be very dark. All were forced to turn on their flashlights as they began to scour the place.

"Alright, Blaire, you're with me," The one male soldier ordered. "Carter, Walker, you're going to search every possible room that you can see. The rest will stay back and make sure no patrols come through. Got it?"

Everyone did what they were told and all began their assigned duties.

The walls had cracks, and old wires made themselves seen. The underlying structure was overall completely intact. Definitely, something to compensate for considering that the skyscraper above was demolished in the nuclear blast.

So far, there was nothing. Old papers and files were found, but aside from that, there was just dirt and undergrowth of some vegetation.

"This place gives me the creeps," Blaire muttered to herself. "It feels like a goddamn tomb."

"Tomb or not, the General wants us to find whatever was here," the soldier simply reminded.

"Well he's not here, is he?" Blaire muttered. "Besides, Rodriguez, why is this so important? What is here?"

"The General said it's highly confidential," Rodriguez explained. "No one here knows."

"No one aside from his damn pretty machine."

"Let's not judge the General on mere opinions on who he confides with."

"Even if it's an endo?" Blaire inquired.

"Even if it's a damn machine," Rodriguez agreed.

"Well, I think that the metal is starting to corrupt him," Blaire then began.

"What makes you think that?" Rodriguez asked.

"How much metal have we seen in our bases since that thing came along?"

"At least a handful at any given time."

"See. You can tell that the machine is getting too comfortable. He treats the damn thing like his damn daughter."

"General Connor had a daughter once. Maybe he's just trying to adjust to the situation. We all have different ways of grieving."

"Well if you saw what I saw, then you'd think otherwise," Blaire hummed.

Rodriguez stopped and turned to face Balire. "What makes you say that?"

"He hugged the damn thing after he was attacked by an Ogre!" Blaire explained. "It was disgusting."

The two continued along the halls until they came across a room that had its walls knocked down. There, they were able to easily access and entrance. It was still too dark, however. The only light that they could see, was fire strewn across the place. They then noticed something particular.

Blaire was the first to step up and evaluate the scene. She knelt down and felt the ground over the ring of fire. It was a crater. But too smooth to be anything else. No comet impact or explosion could have done this.

"Sir, we might have found what the General wanted," Blaire called out. When her leading unit member didn't respond, she frantically looked around. "Sir?"

"Over here, Private!" Rodriguez called out. Blaire got up and walked across the room, where she found her unit leader to be kneeling down, over what looked like a T-888 endoskeleton. But this one was more strange, to say the least. One single hole was located right on its breastplate, going clean through the machine.

"What the hell?" Blaire inquired.

"Well whatever was here, it definitely knew where its power source was. Knocked the sonofabitch right out of functional use." Blaire showed her unit commander where the crater was, to which he looked at with astonishment. "I better radio this in."

After informing the General on the location of what came out of the crater, something piqued Blair's interest. She continued to look around the rest of the room. There she noticed a faint glimmer from her tactical flashlight that was equipped on her plasma rifle.

As she shone her light at every square inch of the room, she noticed something that brought shivers down her spine.

"Sir!"

Rodriguez immediately joined Blaire, where he saw what she was shining the light upon. His eyes too widened at what he was seeing.

"What could have done this?" She asked. "What the hell came out of that crater?"

"I don't know, Blaire... I don't know…" was all that Rodriguez had to say.

Right in front of them, there were over two dozen dead T-888s. All of which had the same inflicted damage. One puncture mark to their power source. All were deactivated with what appeared to be one ambush.

 ** _Los Angeles, California, December 16, 2007: Present Day_**

What were they supposed to do? With everything going on right now, everything was now stressful. They just couldn't stay here forever. They definitely couldn't leave Chloe here too.

 _Not Chloe, John…. It's just a machine that thinks she is Chloe._

He knew it was only a machine. His cousin died only a month ago. She was shot and killed right in front of him. It was a sick reminder of what he failed to stop.

But that was the other issue. There was that voice telling him that although Chloe is dead, she somehow survived through this T-950? That was an extremely ludicrous idea to even consider. Many factors had to come into play before he could even consider that.

Although a machine, could she feel? Could she experience emotion like how she did before her death? How much did she remember about her past? These were all questions that he had. Only she could answer them.

It was getting late outside. The sun would set soon.

John rushed out of his deep thoughts when he noticed the time. He looked over at Cameron and the machine. From what he could see, Cameron was just curiously staring at the young machine. He knew that she would never let her leave her sight. Especially when this machine could possibly do some real harm.

Luckily Sarah called about a few minutes ago. She told them that the situation was clear and that it was safe to come home.

"Hey, we need to get home. Mom just called."

Cameron acknowledged John's suggestion and continued her long gaze at the Terminator. "We need to go."

"Where?" Chloe asked.

"Cameron, can I speak to you for a moment?" John asked.

Cameron obeyed and followed John back across the room. "Yes?"

"What are we going to do with her?" John inquired. "We can't take her back to the house."

"We don't have a choice," Cameron stated. "Deactivating her would be tricky. She doesn't trust us enough as it is. Her mind is in shock."

"Shock?" John asked with confusion.

"Her mind is still adjusting to being in a different time. She has no reclamation of where she is or even what she is yet. It's best to keep it that way."

"We still have to take her with us," John pointed out. He knew what they had to do. "Don't we?"

"If we can get her to trust us, then yes. But Derek, your mother and Alex seeing her is inevitable."

"That's what I'm afraid of…" John mumbled.

Cameron reassuringly kissed John on the cheek. "Don't worry, John. We'll tell them together."

"Good," John smiled with happiness. "Then let's gain her trust."

The two walked back over to the machine. Luckily she stopped acting skittish, and only just glared at the two. She was still on the floor but showed no signs of moving anytime soon. They needed to convince her that they were trying to help her.

"I don't think we've been properly introduced," John began. "I'm John…. Connor," he hesitantly added that last bit. If they were going to establish trust then that's what he had to do.

The machine seemed to perk up. She no longer displayed any fear, and only looked at John with amazement.

"This is Cameron. She's my…. Protector."

Aside from having Chloe's memories, John was surprised to find that she didn't see what Cameron was. The Chloe he knew would have flipped out over a new machine.

"What about you?" John then asked. "What can you tell us about yourself."

"You're John Connor?" The machine asked with timidness.

"Yes," John agreed with a full-hearted smile. "Do you know who I am?"

"Yes," came the machines reply.

"Then you know that you can trust me, right?" John then asked. The machine reluctantly nodded, which brought great relief to John. He stood up and reached his hand out for the machine to take. She took his hand and he helped her up onto her feet. She was definitely heavier than his cousin.

"We need to go," Cameron reminded. John took that as their cue to leave. The two guided the machine to the truck, and with that being said, drove off, back home.

A million questions came to mind. Specifically what Sarah and more importantly what Derek would say if they saw her. When they see her. It was only a matter of time.

 ** _Los Angeles, California, December 16, 2007: Downtown L.A._**

With his own eyes, everything was hectic. Clean up teams were still at the ready, trying to uncover as many survivors as they could. Every branch of law enforcement and even the community was undertaking such a task.

It's crazy when there is enough chaos around, people just come together to help one another.

Something was amidst. The FBI administrator called about finding something of interest to a past case. He was curious as to what it was.

As a police cruiser pulled up to the site, Detective Matthews hopped out, still looking around at all the destruction. Everything was still disorderly.

Anarchy.

He walked up to the nearest tent set up. From what he understood, it was a temporary base for logistics in the area. When he entered, it was just that. A few agents were looking through photos taken at the scene, and filling them away for later use.

At a desk in the far right corner, there was FBI Agent Sinclair. The new administrator for L.A. County. Sinclair was about twenty years older than him, from what he could tell.

Mathews walked up to the desk where the man looked up from his stack of files.

"Sir, I'm Detective-"

"Mathews!" Sinclair finished with a chuckle. "Please, sit, sit!

Matthews did so and took a seat on a folding chair. "So, you called me down here?"

"I did," Sinclair acknowledged. "But not for reasons regarding the investigation your department is helping with."

"So, what did you want to speak about?" Matthews inquired.

"I've read your file. A small town rookie who moved to the big city to become a big Detective like you are now. Many drug, and homicide busts, all of which have been solved. That's very impressive for a man your age."

"Why does it sound like you're offering me a job?" Matthews inquired confusingly.

Sinclair scratched his head in confusion as he continued to look at the file. "Well, I wasn't… But now that I think about it, we could use someone like you in our division."

"Thank you, sir," Matthews acknowledged. "I'll take you up on your offer."

"Having someone like you has been a great help. We've managed to widen our search efforts now that we have a general idea on who may have done it."

"Who did it?" Matthews inquired.

Sinclair simply handed Matthews the file. As he looked at it, he saw a picture that displayed someone he just recently interviewed. The name _"James Ellison"_ was written on the folder.

"What makes you think James Ellison is responsible for this?" Matthews inquired. "Wasn't he one of your best."

"He blamed the deaths of twelve of my men on a teenage girl. I never believed one word out of that man's mouth since I read his file on the failure to apprehend Sarah Connor back in 1997. Instead, he was laying on his ass while that terrorist blew herself up inside a bank."

"I'll look into him more then, sir."

"Good. After all of this, I'd highly consider someone like yourself to join the Bureau. I'll even give you a good word."

"Thank you, sir."

"Then we're done here, Detective. I trust you know the way out."

As Matthews exited the tent and went back to his car, he closely studied the file that Sinclair gave him. Ellison would need to be closely monitored. Who he is with, and what he is doing. If he was a suspect, and he was responsible for all those deaths. Then he would surely be brought to justice.

 ** _Connor Safehouse:_**

When home came into view, that butterfly feeling started to emerge again. What they were doing by sneaking in a machine that looks like Derek's daughter. There would be a lot of consequences for doing this. Mistrust, hate, and anger. There wouldn't be much to do to split everyone up.

"Are you okay, John?" Cameron asked from the front seat.

"Yeah…" John responded. "Just a little nervous. That's all."

"You've been nervous all day," Cameron pointed out. "I can help you relieve all that stress."

Well, that was certainly surprising to hear. What did she mean by that? She wasn't thinking about what he was thinking. Did she? No that's just crazy talk. Its highly unlikely that she would even consider doing that.

"What is this place?" the machine inquired from the backseat.

"Home," John simply answered. Chloe perked up as she looked at the house with curiosity. There was a sparkle in her eye it seemed.

When they pulled up, John shut off the truck. They both got out and still noticed that their new guests were here. If they weren't dead, then surely everything was alright now. Everything should be calm.

"So how are we doing this?" John asked. "Are we sneaking her through the window, or are we going through the front door?"

"I'll take Chloe through the backdoor," Cameron acknowledged. "For now I'll put her in your room until we can think of somewhere else."

"Why are we sneaking into our home?" Chloe asked. "I don't understand why?"

"Do you trust us?" John inquired. Chloe nodded in response. "Then you'll understand why we're doing this."

"Okay," she hesitantly agreed.

With that being said, Cameron took Chloe around the back, leaving John to waltz right through the front door as nothing happened. When he did so, he found everyone in the living room, going through what appeared to be documents.

"What's going on?" John asked, hinting towards the files.

"We're searching through Cyberdyne's lawyers," Sarah explained. "Weaver thinks that Adam White's lawyers know more than what we give them credit for."

"If there is anything that Mr. White wants in big bundles, then surely legal action will be taken," Weaver explained. "Research on AI development is very crucial for most tech firms nowadays."

"So what?" John inquired. "We're all good now?"

"As far as to work together, yes," Weaver agreed.

John then looked at Sarah. "Mom?"

"Everything here is fine, John," Sarah assured.

"Well, I'll leave you guys to it then," John simply said before disappearing upstairs.

While gone, Sarah glanced over at Markus and Alex who were studying old Cyberdyne papers. She couldn't help but see it as adorable. The only male contact Alex ever had with anyone was Derek or John. It was nice to see other's working together.

•••

Meanwhile upstairs, John cautiously entered his room, making sure to close and lock the door behind him. There he witnessed that Cameron was sitting on his bed, curiously watching the T-950 mess around with Legos found in his closet. Never has he seen a machine take such interest in pieces of plastic bricks.

"It's nice to know you got comfortable pretty quickly," John teased. Chloe glared at him in response and showed him what she was making. It looked like a gun of some sorts. "What is this?"

"It's a plasma rifle," Chloe answered. "Do you like it?"

 _If this is what plasma weapons look like, then no wonder I almost defeat Skynet._

"Uh, yeah," John nodded. "Definitely."

"Good," Chloe smiled. "I made it for you."

She stood up again, this time making her way to the closet, where she began throwing John's clothes to the side.

"Uhh, Chloe, maybe you should… stop."

His request was cut short when he noticed that she pulled out what appeared to be a black piece of cloth. It was almost as if out of all the clothes inside his closet, that one her interest more so. He knew what it was and immediately snatched it from her.

"Don't touch this," John hissed.

Chloe flinched in fright and backed away from the closet. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, it's not that… it's just…" He found it hard to explain to a machine that this jacket wasn't hers, yet it was. It was very confusing, to say the least. "This is off limits okay?"

"Okay…" Chloe agreed.

With another item in the room sparking great interest, she ventured to the adjoined bathroom where she just stared into the mirror. Cameron and John just watched as she messed with the strands of her hair and was even touching her own face.

"I never even seen myself before," she muttered to herself.

In its own twisted, creepy way, this was actually quite adorable. She acted like a curious child, seeing what there was to offer in this alien time. It was almost the same as Chloe…. Yet it wasn't.

While the machine continued to play in the mirror, John turned over to looked at Cameron. "I guess she likes it here."

"Yes. But there is still the issue with Derek Reese and Sarah Connor finding out," she said with a whisper.

"I know…" John agreed. There was that. "There has to be some way to break it to them slowly, right?"

"I don't know yet…" Cameron answered. "I can't anticipate what their reactions will be until they see her."

"I'll just tell her to stay in my room, then," John clarified. "Occasionally your room when Alex isn't around."

"Yes. That is wise."

Everyone's attention was immediately put elsewhere when the sounds of a doorbell came from downstairs. Someone else was here. Cameron went over to John's window and peered out of it, only seeing a white vehicle that wasn't there when they arrived.

"John! Emily is here!" Came his mother from downstairs.

"Well, shit…" John huffed. Cameron only stared at him as he thought of what to do. "I'll handle this. Keep an eye on Chloe until I get back."

"I can kill her," Cameron purposed.

"No, no one is getting killed," John said in a stern manner. "I'll get her to go away. Just watch Chloe."

With John leaving his room in favor to talk to that Bitch Whore, Emily, Cameron locked the door once again and watched as Chloe was now playing with her new purple hair dryer.

"Don't touch that," she ordered. She took the object from the machines grasp and put it away. "If come to contact with water, this can hurt you."

Even for what appeared to be an eighteen-year-old girl, this machine still displayed naivety. She shouldn't be this curious about random objects. Not even she was interested in every single thing that she came into contact with.

"I need to talk to John. Can I leave you up here, alone, for two minutes?" Cameron asked.

"Yes," Chloe answered. "Where are you going?"

"Downstairs," Cameron responded. "I will be back in three minutes, forty-five seconds."

"Okay," Chloe acknowledged. Cameron watched as she just sat back down on the floor and began playing with the Legos again.

With that, she left Chloe to her little fun and went downstairs to see what was going on with John and Emily.

•••

Never did she know that she could hold so much anger for someone. That's not what she was designed to be. All emotion was ripped from her when she was in the tube. But why does she feel this anger? She had a very specific mission. But why can't Keran see that it failed? There was always another plan, another mission.

But alas she was here, on the Connor doorstep, with the intention to apologize to John so that she could talk to him. It was pointless, he already made his decision at the dance last night. John Connor would rather screw a terminator over a real girl. She was more real in that sense, but yet he chose her.

It didn't make any goddamn sense. Now was the time to change his mind for the better. She needed to further distract him from _her_ and his mission.

Driving into the driveway was easy enough. There was no perimeter fence, no cameras. It was just a normal suburban house. One that allowed easy access to any enemy.

She got out of the car and began walking to the front door. There, she realized a lot of commotion going on inside. There was even another car parked outside. Not John's mother's Suburban, or his uncle's Dodge Ram. A simple tan sedan was present.

 _That is odd…_

With more suspicion, she continued to march up to the front door. There the commotion was way louder. There was something going on.

Emily knocked on the front door and waited for someone to answer. But there wasn't anyone who heard it, so she decided to knock a little harder.

Finally, the door opened. She immediately recognized who answered. It was Sarah Connor, John's mother.

"Hello, Emily?" Sarah inquired.

"Hello, Ms. Baum," she greeted with a full smile. "Is John home?" She then asked curiously.

"He is," Sarah acknowledged.

Emily noticed how closed the door still was, only allowing her to see Sarah's face. Nothing more could be seen from beyond that.

"May I speak to him?" Emily then asked.

"Sure, just give me a moment," Sarah told the young blonde. Emily casually waited while Sarah closed the door. Something strange was amidst and she wondered what it was.

The door finally opened, and Sarah showed Emily inside. Everything was normal from what she could tell. The house mostly remained the same as she last saw it. Everything was the exact same.

She sighed in relief when she saw John descending down from upstairs. This was odd, he usually smiled when she was around. Why is it that he didn't smile now?

"John!" Emily exclaimed with delight and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I'll give you two some space," Sarah acknowledged and left the room.

"Emily, I need to talk to you about something."

I do, as well," she agreed.

John took Emily out to the backyard where they stopped right behind the shed. There, he was prepared on what he needed to say, but Emily beat him right to it.

"Look, John, I'm sorry about what happened last night. I was angry then, but not anymore."

"Emily…"

"I even got tickets to Disneyland for the both of us!" she continued.

"Emily!" John rose his voice. The petite blonde stopped running her mouth in favor of letting an aggravated John Connor speak. "Look, whatever happened last night, is done. We're done."

Her reaction was one he didn't expect. Instead of sadness, she appeared to be angry. "What? You're breaking up with me!?"

"We're not good for each other, Emily," John continued. "I just don't feel the same way about you."

"You can't just break up with me because of a stupid little fight!" Emily spat in anger.

"Well I am," John stated. "I'm sorry, Emily. But it's over."

As John turned to walk behind the house, he was caught off guard when Emily grabbed his arm, and with what appeared to be brute strength, he was whirled around where his lips came crashing into hers.

In complete shock, John didn't know what to do. Everything was too sudden. He backed away from the kiss as soon as he could and looked at Emily with disbelief. "Emily, what the hell!?"

"I love you, John. I know you love me too!" Emily exclaimed while closing in for another kiss. This time, John pushed her away from him.

"I think it's best if you leave."

Only able to look at John with disgust, Emily stomped away, where she got back in her car and drove off. He was sure that they would find an overturned mailbox with their name on it later.

John went back inside, finding everything the same. Everyone, who Emily didn't know, must've been hiding until she left. Now they were all back in the living room, continuing their search for Skynet.

Deciding to go back upstairs so that he could tell Cameron the good news, that's where he set off to. When he reached his room, he knocked on the door three times. There was no code in place, but surely, she would know it was him, right?

That was strange. There was no answer. "Cameron? It's me, can you open up?"

When there was no answer yet again, he decided to reach for the doorknob. When he twisted it, he found it to be unlocked. When she agreed to always lock it, she didn't. Why?

John entered the room, to find Chloe still sitting on the floor, and Cameron nowhere to be found.

"Where's Cameron?" John asked.

"She went downstairs looking for you," Chloe explained. "You didn't find her?"

"No, she's not downstairs," John stated. "She was supposed to watch you while I talked to…"

Then it hit him.

"Sonofabitch!" John berated himself.

Chloe could only observe as John stomped his way through the adjoined bathroom, and up to Cameron's door. As he expected, it was locked.

"Cameron, please open up!" John called out from the other side. He tried knocking in a semi-loud manner to get his point across. He wondered how much she saw. Did she see Emily kiss him? Did she see the fight that ensued after?

He was just as angry with Emily as she was, maybe even more. She was out of line in kissing him like that when he wanted to call things off with her.

"Cameron! Please talk to me!" John asked, getting more and more aggravated by being ignored. He didn't notice how hard he was knocking on her door.

Suddenly, he heard the door click. She must've unlocked it for him. Before entering the room, he told Chloe to stay put, which she agreed to. With that, he ventured off into Cameron's and Alex's shared room.

It was dark when he entered. Cameron turned off the lights, making it hard for him to see inside. It took him a solid few seconds to adjust. When he was able to see more clearly, he found Cameron sitting on the bed, her facing the window. Luckily the moonlight partially lit up the room, otherwise, he'd be stumbling around like a fool.

"Cameron?" He went up to her, seeing that she was avoiding eye contact with him. "Cameron?" He repeated.

She reluctantly turned, allowing him a somewhat clear view of her face. Through the moonlight, he could see that tears trailed down her face, and her eyes were red and puffy.

He felt like a complete and utter dick. To the one person he loves, what Emily did, could have drastic consequences. What could he do? What could he say?

"I thought you loved me, John," was all that she could quiver.

"Cam, what you saw was not what you think," John began to explain. "I do love you. I was trying to officially end things with Emily, but she got too hands-on with me. What you saw meant nothing to me. I only care about you in that way."

John placed his hand on her lap and began to rub her leg up in down in a reassuring manner. She did state that she did feel sensation one time. Hopefully, she would understand his careness for her through this simple display of affection.

This time she was able to look at him face to face. Her eyes were still red, but she managed to stop the tears.

"Do you still love me?" She asked innocently.

He responded by putting his arm around her and pulling her close. "I do still love you, Cam. I always have, and I always will."

Feeling the contact, she relished in being in his arms and buried her head under his neck.

After countless minutes of just sitting there, enjoying each other's company, John broke away and rose from the bed. "We better go make sure that Chloe isn't getting into any more mischief." To be courteous, he even gave her his hand and offered to help her up.

Despite not needing help standing, she gratefully accepted the offer and took his hand into her own. Together, they both then ventured out of her room and back to his, hand in hand.

 ** _Los Angeles, California, December 16, 2007: Location Unknown_**

John Connor was an idiot. He was smart but he was an idiot. Those were the words that rang through her head as she pulled close to home. He chose a machine over her. The future leader of the Resistance was in love with a damn machine and it was disgusting. She saw how the machine always looked at him, even when he wasn't paying much attention to it. She saw how he looked at it. That's why she kissed him after all, to try and get the attention of the machine and get it away from John.

What was she going to tell Keran? That her mission has failed? That she can no longer go back to the Connor safehouse and work things out with John?

Of course not. Being terminated for failing her mission was not something that she wanted. It took Keran to make her finally realize that.

As she pulled up to the large house, she stopped the car and went inside. Keran was on the couch, looking into a laptop.

"John broke up with me," she suddenly spoke.

Keran stopped what she was doing and looked at Emily. She stood up and walked over to the girl where she stood just inches away. When she least expected it, Keran backhanded Emily in the face, to which she flinched in pain.

"What did you say to him!?" Keran exclaimed.

"I tried to apologize for what I did at the dance. He didn't accept it and broke up with me. I tried to tell him that I loved him, but he didn't listen. I even kissed him."

Keran slapped Emily one more time, this time, causing a large scratch across her face. "You are going to go back to John with that mark on your face. You are going to tell him that your rich parents got mad at you and beat you, so you ran away. You're going to give him a sob story on what happened so that he will feel pity for you. Then you are going to break him away from that damn machine. _Do I make myself clear_?"

Emily rubbed her new wound and nodded.

"Good. I don't want to see your pathetic little ass again until your mission is finished."

Emily glared at Keran before running out the front door. When she heard Emily drive off, she sat back down on the couch.

In anger, she swiped everything off the coffee table, and let out an irritated groan.

 ** _Los Angeles, California, August 10, 2027: Downtown Ruins_**

After what Tech Com Alpha found in the basement, he was called to investigate. It was better to act quickly though. Skynet had heavy patrol routes scouring the entire city. It was almost as if something had them on alert as well. Maybe they were trying to investigate the temporal displacement like they were?

Being under the strict protection of his new bodyguard, Cameron made it less terrifying to be in such a dangerous place. But be would never tell anyone that. Not even her. He needed to keep a gruff, General attitude if these men of his were going to respect him.

When John entered the room, the Resistance fighters had already set up lights around the room. That allowed better visual on what they were looking at. He, along with Cameron greeted with all the dead endoskeletons lying about, scattered throughout the room.

Curiosity peaked both of them. What happened here? What could have done this? He checked the damage situation on a majority of all T-888s in the room. They all had the same mark. It was too clean to be a plasma burn or a bullet hole. This was something else entirely.

"What are we looking at, Lieutenant?" John asked the leading search member.

The soldier saluted before continuing on with answering John's question. "Sir, we think that this was an ambush. For what exactly, we don't know."

"It appears that Skynet forces were here first," Cameron acknowledged.

John agreed to Cameron's statement and focused back on the Lieutenant. "What else have we found?"

The soldier showed John across the room where they came face to face with what must have come through. What was once a time bubble, is now a smooth, cold crater in the far corner. John curiously studied the surface, taking it all in. Cameron noticed that he was getting lost in thought.

"What do you think, sir?" Lieutenant Rodriguez inquired.

John stood up, brushing off his hands on the side of his combat pants. "It's a time bubble. Whatever came through is long gone, probably."

"There is no use in looking for whoever came out of there then," Cameron opinionatedly stated. "It's dangerous to be here any longer."

John curiously noticed something, as he continued to look at all the bodies that still laid scattered around the room. Each endo in the front was destroyed when facing the crater. But the ones in the back were facing the old stairwell that led to the surface. John ordered his team to take the lead in rechecking the surface area. They all did so and climbed the stairs until everyone was out.

In the post-apocalyptic world, they could only see the lights and Hunter Killers out in the distance. But beyond that, in the pile of rubble, they found another endo lying there.

Cautiously, they all approached the machine. Cameron made sure that it wasn't a ploy. Once she knew it was dead, she allowed John to approach it. She noticed how baffled he was. How he knelt down and felt what was left of its face. The blonde hair, mixed with the metallic skull. He pulled out a pocket knife from his coat pocket and went over to the seal port, popping it off, and seeing what was inside.

There was no chip. From what he could tell, at least.

Cameron witnessed the hope in his eyes fade. His almost innocent demeanor turned back into that of the cold General that she knew.

"What is it?" Cameron inquired.

"Nothing," John simply answered. He stood back up and put the knife away. His gaze still faltered, however. She assumed that he was searching for someone. Before long, John turned back to his men, with that cold expression written on his face once more. "There's nothing here. Everyone, let's get back to base."

Everyone followed command and started their trek back to the Jeeps. Even Cameron followed in line, but continued her mission in protecting John, by staying close to him. Something seemed off about his behavior. It was almost as if he recognized the machine that lay dead before him.

When everyone was back at the Jeeps, John called Perry to inform him about what was happening. Once that was done, he crawled in the back seat, while Cameron took her place at his side like usual. Skynet surely will be here soon, so he saw it best if they leave as soon as they can.

As the convoy of Tech-Com soldiers began to get away from the site, Cameron looked around curiously as the wind started to gust past her face. Then something caught her eye. Something that she never thought she'd ever notice.

"Stop the Jeep!" Cameron ordered. The soldier didn't like being told what to do by a machine, but did so anyway, and brought the vehicle to a complete halt. With everybody else doing the same, they all watched as Cameron got out and made her way to some pile of rubble. John and a few other personal decided to follow suit. What he found was astonishing.

A form of moving, silver mass, was on the ground, trying to take a human female form. He could tell what it was almost immediately. A machine made of liquid metal. What was even crazier, was that this machine was weakened. It looked like it was reaching out to him.

"What in heaven's name is that!?" Blaire shouted in complete fear.

John only knelt down, taking his right hand to run through the machine that lay before him. The metal was cold to the touch. The machine was reaching for his hand. But why? Why didn't it try to kill him as the rest of Skynet's minions do?

Unless…

He looked around the surrounding area. It was a battlefield like how it was down in the basement. Dead endos were lying about, while plasma burns covered the surrounding piles of rubble.

"Get whatever we can scavenge and get this back to base!" John ordered in a strict tone.

With his soldiers gathering everything they could find in a metal chest, John noticed something that was encased around the metal.

 _A Terminator CPU?_

 ** _Los Angeles, California, December 17, 2007: Connor Safehouse_**

With all the chaos that was beginning to enter his life, it was tiring. Every day there was something new, Another problem to overcome. But now, that everything was settling down, he was able to sleep in for once. It was refreshing to finally reach those levels of calm and serenity.

When John awoke, he sat up and stretched. Last night wasn't too bad after what transpired with Emily. He, Cameron and Chloe spent a majority of the night playing a board game that Chloe found in his closet. Cameron didn't seem to take losing too well. Especially when it was to the young machine in the same room.

After that, he called it a night. He knew that Chloe didn't sleep, and neither did Cameron. She insisted on staying in the same room, watching over him and more specifically, the machine. Her lying in bed with him until he finally fell asleep was the best feeling he's ever had. Holding a loved one while you dream.

But this morning, Cameron wasn't here. That blank area on his bed made him look around the room in confusion.

Chloe looked up at John who was looking around the room, so she smiled and waved at the future leader. "Good morning, John."

"Morning," John grumbled tiredly. "How'd you sleep?"

"I wasn't tired…" she stated.

 _Well, that was a good way to start off the morning_ , John thought sarcastically. Did Chloe even know that she was a machine? Did she know that she no longer had the same needs as when she was human? Did she know that she was really dead and only a copy? It was best to ease into these questions and not get too ahead of himself. When the time was right she'd find out the truth.

"Where is Cameron?" John inquired.

"She said she needed to check the house perimeter?" Chloe answered unsurely. "She was very vague."

"She always is," John chuckled.

John got out of bed, where he decided to get dressed for the day. He wondered what was planned. What his mother had in mind now that she had a solid lead on the creator of Skynet. Who knows, it could be very interesting.

Deciding that it was best to get dressed in the bathroom, John quickly took a shower and changed clothes. When he was done, he felt like new. When he left the bathroom and went back to his room, where he was greeted with his machine cousin patiently waiting for him.

"Are you alright?" John inquired.

"When can I leave?" Chloe asked.

John was taken aback by this sudden question. "What do you mean?"

"I want to meet everyone downstairs. I want to be able to go outside," she explained. "When can I do that?"

"Not until I and Cameron can figure out a way to introduce you to everyone else downstairs without them going crazy about you."

"Then let's go meet them," Chloe suggested and started making her way to John's door.

In complete distress, John immediately ran ahead of Chloe and blocked the door himself. "Not yet!" He sneered.

"Please don't keep me in here," Chloe pleaded.

"I thought you liked it in here?" John scratched his head.

"I did when I first arrived. But I've already seen all that there is to be seen in here. Don't keep me in here any longer."

This was a problem. What was he going to do? He just couldn't let Chloe freely walk around the house. Everyone, more specifically Derek, would freak out. They didn't know what happened a week ago. They still thought that this machine was hunting them. They would probably try to blow her to pieces and he wouldn't be able to do anything.

Suddenly he felt his door open behind him and turned around to see Cameron walk in, already dressed in different clothes as compared to yesterday's attire. She looked on in confusion as to why John and Chloe were standing so close to the door.

"What is going on?" She asked with a head tilt.

"I need to talk to you," John immediately replied. He looked at Chloe with sternness and told her to "stay here," while he and Cameron went into her room. When they were alone, John spoke. "Chloe wants to leave my room."

"We can't do that until we can think of a way to tell Sarah and Derek," Cameron reminded.

"Yeah, I know that. I tried telling her. But she's bored. We need to think of something."

"Maybe we should tell them?" Cameron purposed.

"I don't know…" John sighed. "This will be too much to take in. What will they think?"

"There are many possibilities to how they can react. It's hard to be certain."

While Cameron and John continued their short discussion, they failed to hear the footsteps that lingered outside in the hallway. Only when they heard John's door open, did they realize that someone just entered the room.

•••

 _Sarah can never do anything herself, can she?_ Alex thought to herself.

Breakfast was being made downstairs, and she hated always being the one that had to wake John's happy ass up every morning. Waking a moody teenager was not what she signed up for when coming to the past.

"John, your mother said breakfast was ready!" Alex shouted from the other side. There was no reply, however. She put her ear up to the door where she heard footsteps. _That's strange…_

Deciding to see what was going on, she opened the door to see what all the commotion was about.

She stopped dead in her tracks. Chills went down her metal spine, as her eyes widened in disbelief at who was in John's room. What was standing in the middle of his room.

Without another thought given, Alex grabbed her gun from the back of her jeans and pointed it at the machine. However, she didn't react like how she thought it would. It didn't attack her, it didn't try to avoid the gun. She just timidly backed away.

The next thing Alex knew, Cameron and John came rushing back into the room.

"Cameron, get John out of here!" Alex ordered with haste.

"Alex put the gun down!" John requested. "She's with us!"

She couldn't help but look at John with disbelief. What the hell was going on here? Why is this machine here? Many questions ran through her mind, and she could seem to grasp on a plausible answer that made any sense.

"You have one minute to tell me what the fuck is going on before I get your mother," Alex hissed with venom.

John and Cameron glanced at each other for a short moment, giving a nod of approval. "I reprogrammed her."

"You got thirty seconds," Alex said impatiently.

"After she attacked me, we both decided that she could be a useful tool to help us. She's okay. She could have attacked me at any point last night, but she didn't."

"She also thinks she is Chloe," Cameron added that last part. John couldn't help but smack his forehead in disbelief.

"So let me get this straight," Alex took a step back. "You not only reprogram a Terminator that has been for the better part of three months, trying to kill you. But it thinks it is Chloe Reese?"

John and Cameron nodded in acknowledgment.

"You two are officially the dumbest people I have ever met!" Alex exclaimed. "When you were programming _this thing_ ," she pointed at the cyborg. "Did you even take a minute to consider how Derek might feel? Have you gotten that far to think about not only bringing that piece of scrap back here but how he might react?"

"We were trying to think of a way to break it to him," John explained.

"I'm getting your mother…" Alex sneered.

"Alex, wait!" John halted. She reluctantly turned back to face the three with an irritated expression on her face. "We'll tell her. Just let me be the one to do it."

"Fine," Alex mused. She waved at the door, motioning for them to leave. Taking one last glance at Cameron and Chloe, he led the parade out of his room.

When descending downstairs, he took a deep breath. Everyone was gathered in the kitchen. His mother was making her famous pancakes, while the two new Resistance fighters were eating. Derek just entered the house from being in the garage, and Catherine Weaver was in the living room.

"Good morning, John," his mother greeted. "I made you pancakes."

"Good morning, General," Jesse and Markus also greeted.

"John," Derek simply acknowledged.

All eyes were on him. There was no backing out now.

"Mom… Derek…" John hesitantly began. This was hard. What were they gonna think? His uncle will be disappointed in him for what he is about to show him. It was like a sick joke. He will never forgive him for this.

"What is it, John?" His mother asked with concern.

It was time to just come out with it. No holding back much longer. There was no use, the truth would inevitably spill.

"Chloe!" he called from the living room.

Derek only looked at Sarah who in return looked back with confusion before gazing back on her son. "John what are you-"

Her response was put to an immediate halt as he saw who came walking into the dining room. That petite, stature, along with that flowing, slightly frizzy blonde hair.

Derek's eyes just went wide, his mouth literally dropping to the floor. Her features turned soft when she had targeted him across the room. A part of him almost reached for the gun behind his waistband. But he stopped and thought for a second. He slowly walked up to her, and looked into her eyes, her returning the gaze.

Before he knew it, he grabbed a strand of hair and tucked it behind her ear.

"Chloe?"

She responded by suddenly wrapping her arms around his waist, and pulling herself close to him. He just watched as she buried her face into his chest with disbelief.

As everyone smiled with warmth in their hearts, John looked across from him, only seeing the look of disappointment written on his mother's face.

•••

 **Author's Note: This was shorter than most chapters recently, but I was able to get this one done much quickly so here you go!**

 **Next chapter we'll see everything begin to unfold. What Emily is going to do about trying to break apart John and Cameron, how the Connors is going to deal with an old face in their household, along with the consequences it will hold in store. Then finally what Cyberdyne has planned.**

 **Reviews and constructive criticism are gladly appreciated!**


	29. Chapter 29

**Terminator: No Fate But What We Make**

 **Chapter 29**

 ** _Los Angeles, California, August 12, 2027: Resistance Headquarters: Fort Griffith_**

 _Everything about this was amazing_ , John thought to himself.

This machine was weakened by plasma fire. Most of its nanites were probably destroyed by the heated blasts. It was a conclusion that made the most sense. But what didn't make sense was why it was attacked by its creator.

Skynet created the damn thing and yet it turned on it. Maybe this machine turned on its creator? There were many theories as to what happened. All of which intrigued him greatly.

But what didn't make sense was the chip it had encased in itself. Why did it have a Terminator chip? A machine's CPU?

The T-1000 was held in a glass chamber made specifically upon arrival. These things were prone to squeezing through small cracks if they weren't careful enough. Soon it would have rebuilt all of its nanites and would be whole again. But until then, he had to wait.

While John sat in his quarters, he carefully studied the chip. There was a crack where the processor was. It was possible that whatever was on this, why the T-1000 had it, was all in vain. Something was special about the chip, he just couldn't quite put his finger on it.

There was a knock on his door. In confusion, he stood up and allowed Cameron to open the door. There was a soldier standing at the foot of the door, his expression turning sour upon seeing Cameron.

"Yes?" She inquired.

"There are two visitors for the General," he hissed.

"Who are they?" She demanded.

The soldier rolled his eyes. "Sergeant Matthews and Medical Officer Amanda Williams."

"Bring them in," John acknowledged from across the room. The soldier obediently followed the General's order and escorted the two inside.

Upon entering, Alex glared at Cameron for a long moment before finally looking at John. "It's good to see you are in one piece," she quipped.

"I should be asking you two that," John stated. "I heard about Crystal Peak."

"Well maybe if your new little toy over there didn't lead Skynet on top of us, then maybe all of those deaths could have been prevented," Alex sarcastically hissed.

"Alex… calm…" Amanda requested. She reluctantly did so and took a deep breath. With that out of the way, Amanda focused back on the General. "Sir, we were informed, indirectly, that you brought another machine here?"

"I did," John acknowledged. "Right now it's in isolation."

"What is it?" Alex inquired.

"A T-1000 if I remember well enough. It appeared to have been injured by Skynet forces."

"You mean damaged?" Alex pointed out. "They don't feel, remember."

"Right," He agreed. " _Damaged_."

"Sir, why bring something potentially dangerous into this base?" Amanda inquired curiously.

"I don't know. I guess I had this feeling," John explained rather simply. "It had this inside it." He showed the two the CPU found encased inside the machine which brought more questions to them. "I found the triple eight that it belonged to as well, but it was already badly damaged."

"What's on it?" Amanda asked. "I mean besides the fact that it being a killing machine brain?"

"I don't know," John shrugged. "It's too damaged to even work with it."

"Then why keep it?" Alex asked, crossing her arms.

John walked over to his desk, shuffling through many papers. Before long, he had a drawing produced to show them. "This is why."

It was a sketch of a chip. But just not any chip. This one was unique in designed. Way different than a T-888 CPU.

"What are we looking at sir?" Amanda asked.

"It looks like Cameron's chip," John explained. "I already verified it. Everything is the exact same aside for the covering that laces hers."

"A covering is why you think it's different?" Alex scoffed.

"This one is chrome plated, hers isn't!" John pressed. "Whatever is on this chip, it must be like Cameron."

"The more you talk about that thing, the more I think you really do worship her!" Alex spat. "This is a waste of time just going on a stupid _feeling_!"

"Alex, enough!" Amanda demanded with sternness.

"No, she's right," John simply acknowledged. "Maybe it is a waste of time. But I will take whatever hope I have in saving humanity, until my very last lead. You may not appreciate it, the entire Resistance may not like it, but I'm trying my goddamn best!"

Alex was taken aback by John's sudden exclamation. His loud, cold voice carried throughout the room, even silencing Williams

"If you ever come here accusing me of trying to tear apart the Resistance again, Alex. Then I will be the General you grew up hearing stories about."

Alex didn't keep eye contact with John and suddenly turned to leave hair quarters. Before leaving through the door, she turned once more, not looking at anyone. "No wonder everyone talks so down upon you," she said before leaving.

With her gone, John took a seat back at his chair. Amanda walked up to him with intentions to calm him down. But that was all in vain when Cameron grabbed her by the arm.

"I think it's time you leave, Officer Williams."

Amanda glared at the machine but did what she was told. With her now leaving, she walked up to John and looked down at him.

"You're stressed."

"How would you know that?" John asked.

"I can tell," she simply stated. Cameron ran her finger across his forehead to ascertain his condition. "Your blood pressure has risen by over thirty-eight percent."

John took a deep breath and sighed heavily. "What has been said about me lately, Cameron?"

"Around the base?" She inquired to which he nodded. "They say that you lost faith in humanity. You would rather be with machines."

"Do you believe any of it?" John asked.

"You see the good in all of us. Human and machine."

"Then why does it feel like I am betraying them?" John then asked.

"I don't understand the question?" She inquired with a head tilt.

"Am I betraying everyone by bringing a potentially dangerous machine into this base?" John clarified.

Cameron's head returned to its upright position, to which she just shook her head in puzzlement. "I don't know. Your intentions are good, your soldiers just don't know what kind of General you are."

His curiosity piqued. "And what is that?"

"You believe that machines deserve a chance."

 ** _Los Angeles, California, December 17, 2007: Connor Safehouse_**

When he thought things couldn't get much more crazy around here lately, this certainly added to that pile of mess. Now he was going to face the consequences of what he and Cameron did.

"John, we need to talk," his mother told him with a stern expression.

 _Well if machines weren't going to kill me, my mother surely will._

John followed his mother outside to the front porch. He already could imagine what she was going to say.

"So you and Tin Miss lied to me."

"Mom, I'm-"

"John please stop talking," she requested in a calm manner. "I'm not an idiot." she noticed that her son's eyes averted from her and found a sudden interest at the skyline. "It explains why Cameron had your back that day."

"What is that supposed to mean?" John inquired.

"You snuck out to go with Emily. How stupid do you think I am?"

"I don't think you are stupid, mom!" John disagreed.

"Then you better tell me what has been going on with you. Better yet, why is that machine in our house, hugging Derek?"

John sighed heavily. The cat was out of the bag, or in this case, the machine. "I and Cameron managed to disable her and take out her chip."

"And why didn't you burn her?" Sarah inquired.

"You heard Weaver! Adam White is a big threat to us and the world. She and I agreed that we needed more help!"

"Then you should have told me, John! I mean how can you be so stupid?"

"How am I supposed to be the oh so great leader you told me I would be if you can't even trust my judgment!?"

Sarah was taken aback by her son's sudden outburst. She herself took a deep breath to collect her thoughts on the whole situation. He was right, he was going to be making his own decisions soon, so why not now? Maybe the answer was simpler than it was made out to be.

"Why does she think she is Chloe, then?"

"I messed up when scrubbing the chip. Instead of starting with a clean slate, I accidentally brought back those memories. It's like when Cameron thought she was different."

"Like Allison…" she pointed out to which her son nodded in agreement. "You owe Derek an apology. He doesn't see what she is yet, but when he does-"

"I get it!" John snapped.

"Do you really?" Sarah sneered. "Because every day I think otherwise."

With all those harsh words being said, Sarah marched right back into the house, leaving John outside, alone. Everything seemed to stick. What his mother thought about him. She was disappointed in him, and she no longer trusted him. What was he going to do now? Just sit around and wait until Derek would rain hell upon him? Surely he would be very angry at the fact that he brought back his deceased daughter but in the form of something he absolutely hated.

With his mood down the drain, John walked back inside. Everyone seemed to stare at him specifically. Everyone was in the living room, while he noticed that Derek and Chloe were outside conversing with each other.

His reckoning would probably come later. If he knew his uncle well enough, he would make sure he got a good scolding for being naive and selfish. He would lose faith in his future General.

•••

An hour went by, and everything seemed to calm down. Sarah calmed down. Derek and Chloe were in the living room, while John and Cameron were outside. Everyone else was with her, searching for Skynet. With both Jesse and Markus taking occupancy in the living room, all operations were conducted at the dining table.

All files now laid scattered about, while she, Catherine Weaver, Markus, Jesse, and Alex looked through all of them.

"We're getting nowhere!" Jesse groaned tiredly. "There is nothing to pin Adam White to the Zeira Corp bombing."

"Well keep looking," Sarah pressed. "There has to be something here."

"Sarah, these documents are over ten years old. Miles Dyson was the CEO then, not Adam White," Alex explained. "For all we know, Cyberdyne is just a secret organization now. We need something new."

"Alex is right," Weaver agreed.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Sarah asked. "Go talk to him ourselves and politely ask him?"

"No," Weaver shook her head. "But you do understand that he does have my AI now. If we don't find him soon, then everything we are trying to stop will simply be for nothing."

"Why do you talk so sophisticatedly?" Alex whispered to herself. "Even for a machine."

"I heard that," Weaver glared.

"Will everyone focus?" Sarah demanded.

"Sorry," everyone apologized.

Still, nothing solid was found. All documents only led to Cyberdyne up until the '90s. Nothing much after that was found. Aside from the Government requisitioning the company in 2003. Most research on any AI project was abandoned years ago.

"Guys!" Derek shouted from the living room. "You may want to check this out!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and went into the living room. Chloe and Derek were at the foot of the television, both of their eyes widened with fascination. They all stopped to watch was on the TV. More specifically what channel was currently airing.

" ** _I'm Madison Walsh, and where I'm currently standing, is the old but new site for a company thought to be long dead._**

 ** _Over 10 years ago, Cyberdyne, run by the late Miles Dyson, unfortunately, saw bankruptcy after known fugitive: Sarah Connor, her son: John Connor, and a mysterious man had set explosives inside the old Cyberdyne Headquarters, with Sarah Connor killing Mr. Dyson in cold blood in the process._**

 ** _Now the company, thought to be lost after his death, has suddenly popped back up on the map, as Miles' son, Daniel Dyson, has come together with the CEO of Cybersystems Incorporated, as a merger for the betterment of our future."_**

"Wait, Daniel Dyson is working with Adam White?" Sarah inquired confusingly.

"I don't know…" Derek shrugged. "It appears so."

" ** _So, Mr. Dyson. What can you tell us about the new and approved Cyberdyne?"_**

The camera cut to Danny. For being so young still, he looked very good. A fancy suit and tie. He almost reminded her of Miles a bit.

" ** _Well… I aim to continue my father's work before he passed. My new partner: Adam White has agreed to help me fund the 're-startup' of my father's company."_**

" ** _What else can you tell us?"_**

" ** _Cybersystems are currently in discussions with the Air Force for the funding of Artificial Intelligence, as well as the first generations of completely antonymous, Military ready, combat units. I call them M.R.C.U.s."_**

" ** _So you plan on creating robots to replace active Military soldiers?"_**

" ** _In time, yes. The possibilities are endless. The future is coming, and Cyberdyne, along with Cybersystems, plan to make a better future for not just America, but the whole worl-"_**

Not being able to bear any more of this, Sarah turned off the television, to which everyone just looked back at her with puzzlement. Derek knew when the hardened woman was stressed. She began to pace back and forth, contemplating on what actions they should take.

"Sarah."

"What, Derek?" Sarah inquired.

"We need to keep calm."

Derek's attempt was in vain as Sarah had immediately countered his suggestion. "How do you expect me to be calm? Miles wanted to destroy all of his research, all of it! Now his own son is practically pissing on his grave by doing this shit!"

"He's still a kid," Derek attempted one more time. "He still doesn't know about the truth. We can talk to him."

"You mean kill him?" Sarah stated. "Because that's your go-to action for every single one of our problems."

"No I mean by really talking to him," Derek corrected calmly. "You said it yourself, Danny is just pissing on his father's grave. Maybe we can make him see that."

"There is no point," Sarah continued. "His mother still dislikes me, and I'm pretty sure she hasn't told her son an ounce of truth about what happened."

"I'd be more concerned about those M.R.C.U.s," Alex spoke up from behind. "It sounds like our dear friend Mr. White is trying to make early versions of terminators."

"The perky one has a point," Jesse intervened. "Making machines before the war could and most likely will alter our chances in the future."

In response to Jesse's opinion, Derek glared at the woman who took immediate notice.

"Okay, so what if we're looking at this the wrong way," Markus spoke up.

"What do you mean?" Alex inquired.

"Cyberdyne is a company. Companies have lawyers. If we can get our hands on one of them, then maybe they can give us valuable information on these early prototypes."

"That could work," Alex agreed. Luckily, she snagged John's laptop from earlier and began to open up a browser window. She then rapidly began typing the keyword: Cyberdyne, into the search bar.

"What are you up to, Tin Head?" Sarah inquired as to what the Hybrid was up to.

"All companies nowadays have websites. I bet Adam White's lawyers or business partners are listed somewhere in here."

"That's just crazy, Alex," Sarah sadly told the woman. "You can't just search names up and expect to find results-"

"Found something!"

Sarah was certainly surprised to have turned up with an answer so quickly. She rounded the coffee table and scooted between Alex and Chloe to see what she was looking at.

"What do we have?"

"Names," Alex addressed. "One Gray Johnson, and one Linda Fambrough."

As Sarah closely studied both names, photos appeared by them. _Well, Terminators have definitely come a long way from looking into phone books._

Gray Johnson was labeled as Cybersystems lawyer, while Cyberdyne was under Linda Fambrough. Now that they had their names, it was a matter of tracking them down and finding out what they knew.

With confidence in Weaver being a Terminator, she trusted that she would be perfect for tracking down one of the two names on the website. "Catherine, I need you to track them down. Can you do that?"

"I may," Weaver agreed.

"Good," Sarah mused with a smirk. This was the first lead they had since being told about Adam White's involvement in Skynet and Judgement Day. The pieces of the puzzle are coming together.

•••

For John, everything was nothing but chaotic as of late. He couldn't stomach going back in the house right now. Not when he had to look his mother in the eye after what she told him. Everyone, including Derek, probably didn't want to see his face after everything.

The cat was out of the bag about Chloe returning, and his mother now mistrusted him. He was certain that Derek did too. Right now he may be in some sort of denial, but there was no denying when the time came to be confronted by the future soldier. It has only been a little over a month since his real cousin was murdered.

John's attention was taken away as the shed door opened, and Cameron entering inside. She could see the look of despair written on the future leader's face. She knew that look. Maybe a bit too well if she was being honest.

"What's wrong, John?"

"Just swell," John scoffed. "Chloe is back in our lives, Derek seems happy for the meantime. But oh, hear this. My mother doesn't trust her own son's judgment!"

"You're upset," she assessed.

Yeah, no shit I'm upset!" John snapped loudly. Seeing the look of concern she gazed down upon him, he realized what mistake he made. "I'm sorry, Cam. I'm just… angry."

"I know. I'm sorry." She went over to John and took a seat on the barstool next to him. Taking his hands into hers she gave him a look of reassurance before unexpectedly resting her head on his shoulder.

That awkward feeling began to emerge inside him as he felt the slight heaviness on his right shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"I like seeing you react to things I don't normally do," she simply answered softly, a smirk starting to form around the corners of her mouth.

"They aren't normal…. are they?"

"No."

"You still don't understand them either," he then pointed out.

"I don't."

He was relieved that she could wash away some of his anger. He wondered what he would do without her by his side. Go insane perhaps? She was his anchor, keeping him from going over the edge. He regretted letting those four weeks almost push her away from him. Now he needed her more than ever. Just her mere presence was enough for him to bear anything lately.

Never will he let her go.

Just when he was enjoying the silence with his favorite person next to him, the shed door opened yet again. Cameron removed her head away from John's shoulder and turned her head to see who had entered.

"John, I need to talk to you," Derek requested.

Cameron gave John another look of concern. While her face was more stoic than it was worrying, he could see it in her eyes. John had given her a simple nod, to which she got up from the stool and left the shed. For reasons, she left the door propped open just in case Derek Reese needed to be terminated for hurting John.

Once the metal was gone, Derek walked over to where John was sitting and took Cameron's previous seat.

He knew what he was going to say, so he just came out with it to break the ice. "You're here to talk about Chloe."

"I am…" Derek acknowledged with a hint of bitterness.

"I understand if you hate me, or you've just given up on me as mom did."

"John…" Derek sighed. Coming up with the right words to say was more difficult than he imagined while coming here. "What you did. I don't know what to think. On one hand, I'm pissed that you brought it here. On the other hand, I'm… glad to see her again."

"You know she is a machine, right?" John asked.

"I know…" Derek acknowledged. "A part of me was ready to gun her down right there and then. But when it… she looked into my eyes. I saw _her._ I saw Chloe in that Tin Can."

"So you believe that she is her?" John inquired.

"My Chloe is still dead, John," Derek admitted. "Nothing will ever change that. I don't even know what to think anymore. I grew up believing all metal was bad, that they all they do is kill. Seeing that thing in there just twists my mind in so many ways!"

"I'm sorry for bringing you all this pain," John uttered.

John and Derek sat there for a solid few minutes, not even speaking. Each had a lot to think about. There was a lot going on already, and this added to that pile. They needed to slow down and collect themselves before continuing.

After those painstaking minutes had passed, Derek was the first to speak again. "Jesse is her mother, you know." John's interest piqued. Now he felt even more like a dumbass for resurrecting Chloe. His uncle had a platter to deal prior to this. Before he could ask any further questions, Derek finished with "not this Jesse, though."

A chuckle escaped both Derek and John. "Our lives are really messed up aren't they?"

"They are," Derek agreed. "But I have to admit. Just a few days ago I swore you were John Baum and not John Connor. But in some way, today proved me wrong."

"So you're not mad?" John asked.

"Oh, I'm still pissed. The only thing keeping me from punching you right now is your guard dog outside and your mother. But I'm not disappointed in you, John."

"Cameron would probably try to kill you if you laid a hand on me," he did point out with a chuckle.

"It would be a shame to have to get rid of good metal like her," Derek snickered.

John looked at Derek in disbelief. He wasn't sure if what he heard his uncle say was just in his head. "Did you just compliment Cameron?"

Derek shrugged. "She has her uses. Just don't tell her, I don't want a machine kissing my ass." He reached under the table, pulling out a paper bag. John wasn't much of a drinker, he only ever had a few sips from a beer one time. But he knew what it was. A bottle of Scotch.

"Is that mom's?"

"Found it the other day," he explained. "Might as well have something to cope with all of this bullshit in our lives."

That's what they did. Both passed around the bottle for a bit, John only taking a few sips here and there. The burning sensation made it hard to down one full drink. As for Derek, he was able to bear the alcohol more than his mother's pancakes.

When half the bottle was gone, John had enough. As for Derek, knowing that Sarah Connor would have a reckoning on him not only sharing the bottle with her son but drinking half of her favorite liquor. He went ahead and wrapped the bottle back in the paper bag and put it away in its previous hiding spot.

When John looked at his phone, it had already been a good few hours. The sun was beginning to lower in the sky which meant that he and his uncle had been out in the shed for quite a long time. He was surprised that Cameron didn't check up on them, fearing that Derek might have done something drastic.

But like always, when he thought of her checking up on him, she did just that.

The cyborg peeked her head inside, seeing John and Derek a little tipsy from the alcohol. The smell further concluded her assumption.

"John. We have a problem."

"What is it?" John asked.

Cameron pushed the shed door open, allowing her to enter. Behind her, was another face. He expected Chloe due to the locks of blonde hair that were caught in the wind.

However, that wasn't who it was as Cameron moved to the side, allowing him to see who it was.

"Emily!?"

His eyes widened in disbelief. On her cheek was a bruise, followed by a large scratch. Her eyes were red and puffy, meaning that she had been crying recently.

Without even noticing what he was doing he rushed over to her and looked at the wound, worry beginning to take hold. "What happened!?"

"M-m-my father. H-he…"

Only being able to look at Derek and Cameron for guidance, he didn't receive any. There was nothing else to say.

He knew what happened.

•••

All was unexpected. Everything had a purpose for being where it was. So why didn't this make any sense whatsoever? John had already explained to her what Emily had told him. Everything from her father laying a hand on his own daughter, to her running away to here. She may have no longer understood teenagers but she knew this a bit too well. She needed to get out of that environment.

With Emily just blankly sitting on their sofa, Sarah just watched her son attempt at comforting the petite blonde. Cameron just stared at them from across the room like always.

"So what do we do about her?" Derek inquired from behind.

Sarah turned to face the soldier. "I don't know. We can't just take her back home."

"She's not our problem," Derek opinionatedly stated. "She's just a liability at this point. Besides we can't just start taking all these people in. Especially when one doesn't even know what is going on."

Derek did have a strong point. It was getting far too cramped in this house. Four terminators, and two people from the future. There was just no space left for them.

"So what do you suggest?" Sarah inquired angrily. "Tell her to get lost? John and she are practically dating still."

"Whatever," Derek huffed. "You make all the decisions anyway. I wonder why you ask for anyone's input if you already have your mind made up."

As Derek walked away, she was forced to look at the blonde again. She had nowhere to go. Her parents were abusive. Like it or not, she wasn't going to take her back to them until there were words spoken.

Sarah sighed, knowing that Emily would probably stay the night in the Connor house. Markus and Jesse took the couches and Derek had the basement. The only other option was Cameron and Alex's room. Unlike their last safe house, there was only one bed up there.

 _Hell, now Alex is going to have to sleep in my room._

Sarah walked up to her son and Emily where she stopped and sat next to her. "Honey, I don't think it's a good idea to go back to your house tonight. You can stay in Alex's room."

"Thank you, Ms. Baum," she sniffled.

As John watched his mother show, Emily, upstairs, Cameron stalked over to him, still glaring at the teenage girl.

"I swear when things can't get too crazy there is always another, right?" John muttered.

"She's lying."

John looked at Cameron in disbelief just realizing what she had said. "What makes you think that?"

"I felt her pulse outside," Cameron clarified. "She's lying."

"Why would she lie about being hit by her parents?" John asked with perplexion.

"I don't know," Cameron admitted. "She's up to something."

"And what if you're wrong?" John inquired.

"I'm never wrong."

"Sometimes you are," John stated.

"Perhaps," Cameron said with a hint of hurtfulness. "But not about this."

Cameron stood up, and followed Sarah and Emily upstairs, leaving John sitting on the couch. Cameron was up to something, but why didn't he care much for it? Maybe Emily was hiding something? Unexpectedly showing up, like she did, was suspicious. There was something Emily wasn't telling him. She was hiding something, but what exactly?

"Have you seen my dad?" Chloe unexpectedly inquired from behind John. He jumped slightly at the blonde and looked at her.

"He might be in the shed. Why?"

"I just want to talk to him," Chloe answered. "I'm sorry about everything."

"It's okay," John shrugged. "It would have happened sooner or later, right?"

"Maybe," Chloe mused. "But still."

With that being said, Chloe made her way through the kitchen and out the backdoor. The sun was getting lower in the sky. She realized that today was a short day with everything going on.

Inside the shed, Chloe heard loud voices emerge, one of them being from Derek. Curiously, and silently, she walked up to the shed door and peeked inside.

 ** _4 Minutes Earlier:_**

Maybe he was wrong? Treating John like he wasn't a careless, immature teenager, and only the leader he was meant to be? He should know the cost of having someone close to him, die, it's happened many times before. Foster parents, friends, and even family. Why must he keep on with this path? That girl from school did not know what she was getting into. Half of the occupants inside this house were not even human. Yet he brought home this girl.

There is a mission they have to do and _Emily_ was just going to be a liability.

Now in the shed, the only thing he could do to keep his mind off of all the chaos in his life, was to focus on the mission. Cleaning every firearm they had would be a good place to start. So one by one, Derek stripped each gun down until they were nothing but pieces before assembling them back together. It was a great way to kill time, as well as being a great stress reliever.

When he was all but finished with the third weapon, he put it back in the duffle bag and went on to the next. However, before he could slide off the top of the handgun, he immediately felt the presence of someone entering behind him.

He whirled around, seeing exactly who it was. His body tensed up, and his expression became sour. "What do you want?"

"I think we need to talk, love," Jesse began calmly.

"No, we don't," Derek hissed. Not wanting to hear a single goddamn thing that came out of this woman's mouth, he started to put the guns away back in the bag and began to leave the shed.

However, Jesse stepped right in front of Derek, stopping him dead in his tracks. "Please just hear me out!"

Gritting his teeth, Derek began looking around the room for another possible exit. There was some plastique in the other bag underneath the boxes. If he wanted to, he could just blow a hole in the wall behind him and leave. Then again, he didn't want to get his arm or leg blown off in the process.

When there was not an exit in sight, he decided to let the Aussie continue. "You have thirty seconds."

"Really, Derek?" Jesse exclaimed in disbelief. "Thirty seconds!?"

"Twenty-five."

"Why do you hate me so much?" Jesse asked.

"Don't play stupid with me!" Derek hissed. "You _killed_ an entire base by joining Skynet. You betrayed everyone from Connor, to me, to my own daughter!"

Jesse didn't immediately respond, only taking a moment to let what Derek proclaimed, sink in. "I did not do that."

"And how the hell am I supposed to know that?" Derek inquired. "Tell me, Jesse. _How am I!?"_

"Because I have seen you die, I have seen everyone I love die at the hands of Skynet!" Jesse exclaimed. "Joining the very thing that's made my life hell is the last thing I'd ever do."

"Somehow I doubt that," Derek muttered.

"Catherine Weaver mentioned we are from different timelines," Jesse then brought up. "If that is true then there should be no reason why we are fighting over this!"

Derek only scoffed. "It's actually funny that you believe everything a machine says."

"Try me, love. You're not even giving me a chance to explain myself."

"There are reasons why I won't give you any more chances!" Derek spat.

"What happened to me in your future?" Jesse inquired. "What did I do so bad that gives you the right to be an asshole to me!?"

Derek took a long moment to take a deep breath. He noticed the shed doors open for the hundredth time today. But it wasn't whom he expected it to be. Not John, nor Sarah. Not even the Tin Miss or Alex. Hell he even expected John's girlfriend or that other guy: _Markus_ , that Jesse was probably sleeping with.

"What's going on here?" came Chloe's question as she peeked her head into the doorway.

If everything wasn't bad enough, Chloe being here was a lot harder. He was tempted to just tell the machine off and get lost. But complications made sure he didn't say anything harsh.

"Chloe now is a bad time," Derek said with sternness. Luckily the cyborg caught the hint and decided to leave.

With the way Derek seemed to talk to the blonde machine, Jesse noticed. After watching scrap metal leave, she turned her attention back to Derek, a smirk on her face. "Only two days being here and I have never seen you act like that towards a machine. Why?"

" _We_ are not having this discussion!" Derek sneered.

"I've seen you act hostile towards Cameron, even Weaver. But not her."

"You're really treading on thin ice here, Jesse. Don't even think about challenging me."

"That thing has only been around for a day. Yet you treat it like you've raised her. Are you in love with a machine, Derek?"

In absolute anger, Derek grabbed Jesse by both shoulders and slammed her into the closed door, taking his handgun and aiming it at her temple. "Shut up!"

"If you're going to kill me, at least let me know what that machine is to you?" Jesse requested.

Only then did Derek realize what she was doing. Jesse was always one to get into his head, despite her being a different version of the one he knew.

Derek withdrew his gun away from Jesse and back away. Before leaving the shed, he took one last glance at the woman. "You stay away from her. Do I make myself clear?"

"Whatever you say," Jesse gritted her teeth.

With that being said, Derek stomped out of the shed, leaving Jesse standing in the same spot, with her watching as he went back inside the house.

That machine was special to Derek. But why? The stubborn soldier was one of the only ones she knew that despised metal as much as her. Maybe even more so if she remembered correctly. This machine was new in the house, yet Derek treated it like he knew her his entire life.

There was one thing that Jesse couldn't let escape her mind as that piece of scrap came to mind. It had no resemblance to Derek. Only it's eyes.

As Jesse was about to leave, she caught her reflection in the window. She stopped, only gazing at herself with curiosity. The only image that came to mind when she saw herself was…

Her eyes widened in disbelief.

•••

 **Author's Note: I apologize for the lack of updates. Haven't really found the time to write lately. I'll be sure to get the next chapter out as soon as possible!**

 **Had to get some small issues out of the way for the Connors. In the next chapter, things will get rolling again, as now they have a lead to find what Adam White has in store!**

 **Reviews are appreciated!**


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